The Celestial Noble: The Eluding Prelude
by iamasuperhero
Summary: Set after the second titan war, Percy's life underwent a drastic change. And for that matter, he found himself weaving a tangled web of misery, despair, betrayal, horror and death. He felt betrayed by camp so he left. Full summary inside and on my bio.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: All rights belong to Rick Riordan. Future OCs are mine.

Summary:

Percy felt betrayed by Annabeth and the whole camp. Then one day, he just vanished leaving no trace of him staying at Camp Half-blood, or even traces of him existing. 5 years later, a _dark_ army brings threat to Olympus. Who will help them? Will they prevail now that the savior of Olympus is gone? Set after The Last Olympian. The Lost Hero didn't happen. Read and Review! I warn you, characters were meant to be OOC.

**EDIT: This is the beta-read version. Special thanks to Roxas 666, my beta-reader. **

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><p><strong><strong>Ψ<strong>**

_**The Celestial Noble: The Eluding Prelude**_

**_Prologue_**

_Winter, Camp Half-Blood_

_~Percy~_

**Ψ**

Last summer was the worst I ever had. A second war with the Titans had broken out, and guess what? Yes, I was the one that led an army of demigods and Hunters to defend Mt. Olympus; currently located at the 600th floor of Empire State Building. You heard that right, 600th floor. And, no, I'm not making that up. Trust me, it's there.

Even though we won, the war brought a lot of pain for each one of us. We lost so many, but we also gained much. The gods were keeping their promise, bringing their demigod children in camp and claiming them by the time they turn thirteen.

Tyson, my half-brother, was appointed as a general in the armies of Olympus, Grover Underwood, a satyr, was made lord of the Wild, Annabeth Chase was appointed as the chief architect of Olympus and I, Percy Jackson, was offered immortality; a chance to serve with my father for eternity. Yeah, I so wanted it.

But hey, I have some other things in my mind. Uh...like Luke's last wish...and a certain girl with stormy gray eyes... _Annabeth..._ A grin slowly formed in my facade. You see, this girl _is _the girl of my dreams. And I got to kiss her after the war...on my birthday... best gift ever, I say.

We've been dating for a few months now...or something like that. Since she started working on the designs for Olympus, well, she did not spend much time with me, less with camp and our friends. It felt like we're starting to grow apart... I don't know. I am not even sure if our relationship is going on the right track.

First things first, my name is Percy Jackson. I am a son of Poseidon, the hero of Olympus, and this is the second chapter of my miserable life.

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><p>End Notes:<p>

So, how was it? Should I write more? How do you think will Annabeth betray Percy?

Share your opinions. The plot is still fuzzy but this story will definitely go somewhere. :]

Reviews are very much accepted. CCs are welcomed. Flames as well, but don't be harsh. Please.

**Sorry for being MIA for 5months or more. I won't make any excuses but I'll tell this, sh!t university. I hope all the people who came to love this story will still follow this and still give wonderful reviews.**

**As read in above, I've found a beta-reader. Sorry if you were expecting a new chapter. But rest assured. The next chapter will be posted as soon as it is ready. There will be similar notifications in your inbox saying that The Celestial Noble was updated though. Those would be the beta-read versions of the chapters already posted. You can read them if you want. Though, there weren't any changes on the plot. So, your choice. **

*****If it notifies you that iamasupehero posted CHAPTER 10, then that is the chapter you've been waiting for.**

**Sincerely,**

**iamasuperhero**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed and added this story to their alerts and favorites. You inspired me to write the first chapter. So here it is. I was actually planning on posting this when I'm done writing the second chapter, but since I love you guys, Imma post it now. So please read and hopefully, review.**

**EDIT: This is the beta-read version. Special thanks to my beta-reader, Roxas 666.**

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><p><strong><strong>Ψ<strong>**

_**The Celestial Noble: The Eluding Prelude**_

**_Chapter 1  
><em>**

_Winter, Camp Half-Blood_

_~Percy~_

**Ψ**

_~ Destiny never found a way for me my love. ~  
><em>

Slowly, camp had recovered from the previous war. Any damages caused were not evident anymore in the lives of the demigods that fought last summer. Things are going well you might say, but not for our favorite hero, Percy Jackson.

His dreadful day started with delightful news from Chiron.

"Percy. I've received news from Annabeth. She's on her way home from Olympus. It seems that the gods gave her a break." The centaur said.

"Really?" Percy asked.

"No." His smile faded from his face. "I was joking. Lighten up. And you better clean yourself; you look awful." Chiron, laughing, patted him on his back and trotted towards the archery range.

The demigod quickly unbuckled his armor and dashed towards cabin three with glee evident in his face.

Hours flew by and Percy was ready to meet Annabeth. Word is she'd be at camp by dinner time. He marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Campers came from other cabins too, except for the two in the middle, Zeus' and Hera's, and cabin eight, which had looked normal in daytime but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down. Satyrs soon joined from the meadow and Dryads came out of the woods.

He recalled the first time he knew of camp and the mysteries surrounding it, the time he came to knew that gods exist and his father one of them; moreover, the time that all the unfortunate events of his life started.

Soon he found himself atop the hill overlooking the whole pavilion. Torches were blazing around the marble columns and in the center fire was burning in a bronze brazier. Campers were seated according to their cabin, chatting leisurely like no war had happened.

He saw the Hermes cabin laughing uncontrollably at something the twins, Travis and Connor, might have said. From the Ares table, he saw Clarisse La Rue with her usual camouflage jacket smiling. The Hephaestus campers wore smiles though they look ragged and burnt. Indeed, they had recovered from the lost of fellow campers and their great leader, Charles Beckendorf. Indeed, the camp had grown over the depressing war that took place.

His eyes then landed on the Athena table. Though he failed to see the blonde curls and bright grey eyes that could've only belong to his wise girl, Annabeth.

Unaware of his surrounding, Percy didn't notice Grover standing next to him gazing upon his face like the satyr was reading his emotions. And during that span of seconds, Grover was actually reading his emotions.

"Percy. You're my best friend and Annabeth too. But, I think that seeing her would be a bit unpleasant." Grover said unsurely.

"Whoa! What? How is seeing her unpleasant?" Percy retorted. "I haven't seen her for months and you say I shouldn't meet her."

"Chill bro! Well, I mean, speaking as a completely objective third-party outsider with absolutely no personal interest in the matter..." Seeing the look on Percy's face - scrunched eyebrows, lips twitching and with the confused look on his eyes - Grover stopped mid-sentence and tried hard not to laugh. Gaining his composure back, he continued, "Whatever, I am not sure about this. You haven't seen each other for months as you've said. Things might not go smoothly. Do you understand?"

"Uh... you're my best friend and I think I understand what you're saying." Think as the operative word, I might add. Though he had a hunch that the satyr was hiding something from him he shrugged it off. "I miss her and I need to see her as much. Okay? So just wish me luck G-man!"

From there he jogged down the hill and wasn't able to hear what Grover muttered. "Yeah, you'll need it Perce."

At the open pavilion, Chiron pounded his hoof against the floor and raised a toast. "To the gods and the heroes of Battle of Manhattan!"

Cheers rose from each tables and everyone else raised their glasses. Percy felt happy for once. Once everyone had their share of meal and offered a piece of it, he stood and walked towards the fire in the center of the hall.

"Father." He spoke silently. As a response from the god of the sea, there was a cold breeze from the ocean carrying words that had haunted our hero long ago.

_Brace yourself. _Percy, not knowing what his father meant, wasn't able to notice the sudden silence of the whole pavilion. Turning around, he heard a camper shout with joy.

"ANNABETH!" Malcolm, from the Athena cabin, called.

_If only he had known what his father meant and what Grover was trying to say, things would have gone differently. If only I was there to tell him how events will unfold, I could've prevented the hurt that befell Percy._

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><p>There Annabeth was, standing a few feet away from him. Her hair billowing as she tucked a few strands behind her ear, a smile evident in her gleaming facade. Eyes were on her without delay. Old campers from the Athena cabin stood and ran towards her, engulfing her in a hug.<p>

The small crowd soon departed and went back to their table. Chiron stood and greeted the architect of Olympus.

"How are you my child?" The teacher asked.

"I'm doing fine. A little exhausted from work on Olympus." She answered. Chiron, seeing Percy nearing them, walked away.

"Annabeth..." Percy spoke, his lopsided grin never leaving his face.

Annabeth, however, turned around and was...shocked to see him. Nervousness came across her face. But as sudden as it came, it vanished unnoticeable. _Why?_

"Oh... Percy. I-it's been a long time. How are you?" She said quickly composing herself. Chiron, sensing the awkwardness between the couple, told them to take their seat.

"I'm sure everyone had a long day. Take your supper heartily." And so, everyone ate as well as Percy.

Percy threw confused and worried glances at his girlfriend. _Why is she acting that way? Didn't she miss me? _Questions kept rising as he sensed that Grover might be right, seeing Annabeth would be bad. _But, why?_ He kept asking that until the evening meal ended.

"Yes. I suppose I'd better say hello to all you annoyances. Hello. Chiron says that a game of capture the flag will be held. Soon." Groans were heard, "That's right. Now run along to your campfire."

They all headed down the amphitheatre where the Apollo cabin led the sing-along. Percy scanned the crowd but was unable to locate Annabeth.

He tried searching her at cabin six, but no one seem to answer. So, he went to the lake but failed again. He soon found himself walking towards the beach where he saw an outline of a person nearing him. He was actually wrong to refer it as a person and he soon found out why. He came across a nervous looking Grover which we all know is a satyr and most definitely not pure human, but half-goat.

"P-p-Perce. W-what are you d-doing here?" He asked nervously. "Shouldn't you be at the campfire?"

"Well. I'm looking for Annabeth. By any chance, do you know where she is?"

"Blaa-ha-ha. Annabeth, do I know where she is? I don't?" He said quickly that it came out like a question. "Y-yes. I mean, no. I don't know. Yeah."

"Why do you seem so nervous? You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"

"Hiding? Oh no. Why would I hide something from you? You're my best friend and all that. Why would I hide something that will surely devastate you?" Grover clamped his mouth with his shivering hands.

"G-man. You're rambling. I wouldn't pry on it much but I really have to look for Annabeth. I think she's at the beach." Oh if only Percy knew what Grover was hiding from him, he wouldn't have gone to the beach. There, he'd came across something bigger than Kronos.

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><p><em>I wouldn't delay the growing predicament of our hero, and tell you what exactly is going on. Percy made his way to the beach and quickly looked around. When he thought he hadn't found her, he heard small voices from the crowded trees behind him. He pulled out Riptide and walked cautiously towards it. An expression here which meant he took quiet walks preparing for a supposed monster. Little did he know, he was walking towards his death.<em>

"What the fuck?" Percy stood there disoriented by what he saw. His hands were shaking while trying to get a firm grip around Riptide's hilt.

From afar, one can only see shadows of two persons behind a tree. Their bodies pressed against each other that that person may came to an idea that the two were kissing, heavily. But Percy wasn't far during that time nor was he close to the two that they hadn't noticed him if he had not spoken.

_Clank!_ He lost grip of his sword and it fell on the ground. His mind couldn't process what he had seen. Annabeth was there, pressed against a tree by a body of a guy she was making out with. Her hand inside the guy's shirt and the other placed behind his neck. But that wasn't all. Annabeth's shirt was missing, clearly exposing her undergarments. Her legs wrapped around the body of the guy - yet to be known.

The guy, meanwhile, had his hands cupping the bulging breast of the young girl. This guy had a familiar shaggy long black hair, pale olive skin and really dark round eyes. He wore a black jeans and a black aviator's jacket. Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades, he who had played an important role in the Titan war.

Anger boiled inside him seeing his girlfriend making out with his best friend. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to shout but what good would it do? He wanted to beat the crap out of the two people across him but what good would it do? What good would it do telling you people what had happened next? But as I had vowed to myself, I will write down the series of events that unfolded in Percy Jackson's life.

Annabeth and Nico however were freaking out. They were caught point-blank by none other than Percy himself. Needless to say, Percy was fuming with anger. He balled his fist ready to smack Nico in the jaw. His eyes, the friendly sea-green orbs, now only emanate the rage building in him.

Annabeth used her now present shirt to cover her exposed body. And Nico had a sudden interest in his shoes. The noisy silence was broke when a breathless Grover trotted near the three.

"Uh... Crap." Grover bleated.

"What the fucking hell is going on!" Percy shouted.

Annabeth desperately tried to calm Percy down. "Percy, it's not what you-"

"Not what I think? Ha? I know what I saw Annabeth! And I fucking know my _girlfriend _fucking cheated on me." He yelled not minding the repetitive use of the _F_ word.

"Percy. Calm down-"

Percy interrupted Nico making things worse than it was. "And you! You even have the nerve to speak! Best friends huh? Bullshit! Do best friends do this? You should be ashamed of yourselves!" He was dangerously close to Nico now.

"Percy. I know this is a bad situation but there's no need for violence." Grover said failing to try to hide the fear in his voice.

"Will you shut-up?" Percy said irritated.

"Hey! Don't take it out on me! I was just trying to calm things down," Grover hurt from what Percy had said.

"Oh no. I'm not taking it out on you G-man." He smirked and walked closer to Nico until he was towering him by a foot.

"Percy, don't do this. Let's just talk it out and be logical." Annabeth tried separating the two.

"Unbelievable!" Percy laughed oozing with sarcasm. "Try being logical? For a daughter of Athena, you're stupid!" His uneven breath seeping through his gritted teeth, he didn't stop. "Such an utter disgust...cheating on me with Nico like some bitch."

That set Nico off. "Don't speak ill of her, asshole!" His right fist connected with Percy's jaw. Being invincible, he didn't stagger one bit. He stood firm on the ground and cracked his knuckles. Another fist flew towards his jaw, this time he caught it with his hands and gripped Nico's left fist hard.

He released Nico's fist and swung a punch square in his nose. Blood oozed from Nico's nose as he stumbled backward. Percy didn't give him a chance to regain his stance. He shoved him down the ground face-plant. They could vaguely hear the bleating noise from Grover and pleading cries from Annabeth.

He landed a swift kick on Nico's side, knocking the wind out of him and hurling him against a tree. Nico managed to stand shakily and lunged towards Percy. He pulled out his sword from the shadow of the tree and swung it with evident skills.

Percy picked up Riptide and blocked the continuous strikes from his former best friend. The brawl continued and neither demigod wanted to stop. They didn't also notice the growing crowd watching them. Some chanted "Fight! Fight!" Some tried to stop them but failed miserably and ended up either bruised or cut.

Percy feigned a left strike making Nico leave his left side unguarded. Percy, seeing the opportunity made a quick strike on the right and managed to hit Nico's left arm. The jacket's sleeve was torn out and blood sprayed from the deep wound.

The two were engrossed in their fighting that neither noticed Chiron came with an angry look on his face.

"Both of you STOP this instant!" Chiron shouted over the cheering crowd. It took about three campers just to hold Percy off while Clarisse pulled Nico away. "I won't tolerate such childish behavior in my camp."

He took a glance at the two demigods and scowled. Percy, despite the curse, had bruises in his face, and blood was oozing out his nose. Nico, however, took it badly. His right eye and upper lip were swollen and bleeding. He was wounded and bruised from head to toe.

"EVERYONE! Go back to your cabins. The rest involved in the matter, stay." He ordered.

"WHY IN ZEUS' NAME WERE YOU TWO FIGHTING?" He unleashed his anger once the campers were away.

Chiron sighed and placed his hand before his face since neither would talk. "Someone, take Nico in the infirmary, left medical wing."

"I'll do it." Clarisse, who stayed behind, volunteered and took the injured demigod away.

"Annabeth, take Percy in the right medical wing." But Annabeth wouldn't move and just looked down. Tears were flowing and Chiron noticed them. He glanced at Percy, and saw a straight face in him. His eyes kept telling the same story: _I will kill you, Nico._

Grover took his move and take Percy with him. Only Chiron and a stricken Annabeth were left. Chiron took careful steps toward the weeping girl and gave a comforting hug. "What happened?"

"Percy was mad…I've never seen him that furious. And it's because of me." Annabeth leaned her head on Chiron's shoulder and hugged her father figure.

"Tell me what happened." And so Annabeth told him everything.

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><p><strong>EN: That's the end of the chapter. So, how was it? Say what you think on a review. This has been beta-read as said above.**

**Sorry for being MIA for 5months or more. I won't make any excuses but I'll tell this, sh!t university. I hope all the people who came to love this story will still follow this and still give wonderful reviews.**

**Sorry if you were expecting a new chapter. But rest assured. The next chapter will be posted as soon as it is ready. There will be similar notifications in your inbox saying that The Celestial Noble was updated though. Those would be the beta-read versions of the chapters already posted. You can read them if you want. Though, there weren't any changes on the plot. So, your choice. **

*******If it notifies you that iamasupehero posted CHAPTER 10, then that is the chapter you've been waiting for.**  
><strong>

**Sincerely,**

**iamasuperhero**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: I hope no one will mind that I make Nico 15 years old here. I find it weird if Annabeth is 16 and Nico is 12, so yeah, that makes Nico and Bianca twins. **

**I'll say this again, characters were meant to be OOC. Don't judge me for that.  
><strong>

**OKAY! Seriously, 34 reviews? Wow. Thank you guys! I never expected this story, having only one chapter, to have that many reviews. THANK YOU!******

******Disclaimer: I don't own PJO series.******

******EDIT: This is the beta-read version. Roxas 666, I send you my deepest thanks.  
><strong>****

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><p><strong><strong>Ψ<strong>**

_**The Celestial Noble: The Eluding Prelude**_

**_Chapter 2  
><em>**

_Winter, Camp Half-Blood_

_~Percy~_

**Ψ**

_~ It is better to end something and start another _

_Than to imprison yourself in hoping for the impossible. ~_

**_Have you ever had a dreary experience in your life? I'm sure you and everyone else have. You probably said to yourself that you would feel better by morning. Bullshit, I say! An author once wrote, "A miserable experience remains a miserable experience even on the loveliest mornings." This is, in reality, the bitter truth. _**

**_My father had told me that all will be better the next morning. He should have known better. When the sun came up, mother was still lying on a heap of hay, lifeless. The world was still at risk and I felt as miserable as ever. _**

**_I'm very sure it was so with Percy Jackson. No matter how much it saddens me to say it - but Percy Jackson was on a road more travelled where pain, despair, torment and death accompany him. _**

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><p>As soon as the warm rays of the sun filled the cabin, Percy's eyes fluttered and adjusted to the sudden light. "Was it all just a dream?" He asked himself. I wish it was and he wished as well because all the dreadful events that night came rushing back and he was as miserable as ever. Anyone would be if they found out that their love cheated on them, more so with their cousin they treated as a brother. Anyone would be if they lost their remaining best friend and felt they were alone to face the wretched world.<p>

Oh sorry. You were probably confused at what I was talking about. Last night, Grover didn't actually take Percy to the infirmary, for the reason that he was in a better condition and didn't need medical attention.

Percy sat on the edge of his bed, his elbows resting on his thighs and his hands covering his darkened eyes. "I don't get it." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"I don't either." Grover whispered.

He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Grover was there wearing sympathy on his face. "You knew." It was more of a statement than a question. Percy placed his gaze on his lap and rested his arms on his thighs.

"I accidentally found out yesterday." Grover stuttered being cautious with his words. "I tried to tell you, but…" His voice trailed.

"I understand… but what I can't understand is why they freaking did that to me?" His voice grew louder and fiercer.

"Percy, would you please calm down. Take this. Water will help you relax." Grover handed a glass of water but Percy swatted it away. The glass broke when it landed on the wooden floor.

"Calm down, you say? How can I calm down when I just found out my girlfriend cheated on me? Tell me Grover! Tell me how!" He abruptly stood. "All I need is beating the living daylights out of that bastard Nico!" Blinded by his anger, he accidentally knocked Grover hard on the floor. Needless to say, Grover was infuriated.

"You know what Perce? YOU'RE REALLY FUCKED UP!" He didn't mean to offend Percy but the guy was too much. And so, Grover stormed off leaving a shaken son of Poseidon alone in cabin three. His anger turned to disbelief and then back with pure anger and resentment.

**_I would want to tell you how Percy's night proceeded but I would rather give him the right of privacy and not tell you how it went. Let us just settle with the fact that his night did not turn out well._**

Soon after, the appalling night went by and morning came. It was too early for breakfast so he decided to take a dip in the ocean. Being a son of the sea god, he had perks when it comes to the sea. Being able to breathe under, perfect bearings on sea and control over water. Once he had set his foot in the calm sea, the water rose and caressed his bare skin cleaning all the wounds and bruises inflicted by last night's fight. He placed a foot forward one at a time and the next thing he knew, his whole body was submerged.

The sea had done its purpose, block out the thoughts of a certain daughter of Athena and a son of Hades. Percy stayed there for Poseidon-knows-how-long 20 feet below. Strangely, when sea creatures passed by, they seem to pause for a while and stare at our hero. They stayed there for quite some time doing nothing at all. Nevertheless, when you try to see closer, they tend to take the grief from their prince and put it all on their shoulders, or rather fins, or whatever they have.

The sea had done its purpose again, calm his young prince and render him strength. But what the sea hadn't done was keep Percy forever in its realm to prevent further despair that befell him.

After his short voyage in the sea, he willed the currents to take him ashore. It took him hours to get back at the shores of camp for he was a few nautical miles away and he was moving on a slow rate.

By the time he reached the shore, lunch was being served. He quietly took a seat not minding the glances from nosy campers.

Due to his pleasant stay in the ocean, he wasn't really hungry so he just scanned around the pavilion. Failing to stop the inevitable, his gaze landed on the Athena table. He was scared of seeing the wretched girl hence he quickly removed his gaze but returned it as quickly. There he saw no Annabeth sitting at the table. It was rare for the daughter of Athena to miss lunch but it was rarer for her to cheat on Percy.

"Bitch." He drew a conclusion and let out a snort. He eyed the Hades table and as he expected, Nico wasn't there. "Still at the clinic eh?"

_Pft. Probably eating their faces to their hearts' content. Assholes. _He thought.

Speaking of the devil – an expression here that meant that Annabeth entered the pavilion with a satisfied look on her face – Annabeth came into view. And as Percy expected, she came from the infirmary because behind her, across the field was the left wing of the infirmary where Nico was staying. What they did in there? Probably it's better not to know.

The days that went by were uneventful, meaning there's not much to tell how the days of Percy Jackson went by. It doesn't mean that his life went well. I assure you it didn't.

One afternoon, almost everyone at camp knew of the fight between Percy and Nico. And you know how words tend to change while it passes from mouth to mouth.

Percy, still as dejected, was staring off in space. For days, he had been ignoring Annabeth and her newfound boyfriend thinking that the pain will lessen. But he can't ignore them forever because he always sees them every day at camp. He still took lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and Chiron. The only thing that was disturbed from his _normal _routine was that he stopped taking Ancient Greek lessons from Annabeth, and he tended to zone out a lot.

Afar from him, nosy campers were staring at him and noticed the unusual his unusual behaviors. They started murmuring at each other.

"Why do you think they fought?"

"I think Percy's gone out of his mind…"

"...look at him. He's just staring at his food…"

"It seems the war took a lot out of him…"

"He must have lost his sanity..."

"He...He's handsome…" Everyone's eyes were instantly directed at the girl. "What? It's true! Annabeth just lost a really big catch."

"Whatever. He's insane. You'd never know, he'll come inside our cabin and slay us all."

"Yikes!" The girl shivered.

And _Yikes!_ Truly, the gossip turned out worse. The blame was on Percy like it was his fault for the commotion that night. No one knew of the truth and no one appeared to notice the growing affection of Annabeth and Nico. And now, Percy was being accused of insanity. Oh the cruel world.

Another afternoon, he had to teach sword-fighting. Campers gathered around him in the arena.

"Listen everyone! We'll start with basic stabbing and guarding." Percy ordered. "Pair up and start dueling."

They started finding partners and when they were through, one guy was left without a partner.

"You. With me." Percy pointed at the person with burnt eyebrows. The camper just nodded and strapped up.

"Good luck." An older camper with a mole under his left eye told him. "He's the best fighter here." Now what do people tend to say these days, like duh. Hence he was teaching sword-fighting.

"Maybe he'll go easy on me." The guy with burnt eyebrows wished. Percy heard this and couldn't help recalling the time he said those exact words. He had this far away look and the campers noticed this.

"Look! There it is again." The older camper with a mole under his left eye whispered.

"I wish he won't have fits now." A Hermes camper whispered back.

Percy vaguely heard the other talk nonsense about him. He didn't give them anymore attention and time with their petty conversation. He continued with the lessons and I tell you, it was unlike any lessons the campers had. All of them were sweaty and tired. Their muscles went numb for the whole day.

The night after that day, one can feel the excitement hanging in the air. At last, it was time for capture the flag. And it was time that Nico's secret be revealed.

The laurels were held by Apollo's cabin. Will Solace, the head counselor of the cabin, entered with his siblings holding a golden silk flag with the symbol of cabin seven.

From the other side of the pavilion, the Athena campers came holding a gray flag with an image of a barn owl above an olive tree painted on it.

The head counselors of both cabins announced their team mates. Demeter, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hypnos, and of course Hades' cabin sided with Athena, the blue team, while Ares, Hermes, Dionysus, Hecate and Poseidon's cabin sided with Apollo, the red team.

"Heroes! You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banners must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. No intentional maiming. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. To your positions!" Chiron announced.

The Apollo team gathered at the creek. "Okay. Here's the plan. We'll send out decoy in the left. Travis, lead that. Take your cabin. You're all good runners. Attract as many enemies as possible." Will said.

"Got that!" Travis replied.

"Clarisse. You're the raiders. Take the right. Surprise them." Will said. Clarisse gave him a nod and assembled her team. "All archers, scatter around the woods. Hide in trees, rocks. Shoot the enemies down. Pollux and I will guard the flag at Zeus' fist."

"Percy. Thank gods you sided with us. I need you to take the flag from the enemies. Run as fast as you can. Connor will meet you half-way the woods, he's the fastest runner in camp, give him the flag and defend him at all costs." Will ordered.

"Copy." Percy and Connor said.

"We'll pulverize them!" A camper from the Ares cabin shouted. Cheers rose from their team. Soon, everyone took their position and readied for the game.

The conch horn sounded and the game began.

From the top of Zeus' fist, Will Solace got a good view over the forest. "Percy!" He called to him. "Center is wide open. Take that route. Our archers are deployed there." Percy returned a nod and disappeared into the woods.

True enough, the center was clear. The decoy troop led many enemy campers deeper into the woods, away from raiding troop. The latter, however, was having a hard time penetrating the base of the blue team. It appeared that the enemy were ready for that.

Percy ran at top speed, leaping over rocks and exposed tree roots. He can hear hoots from the trees – signal that the path was safe and clear from the archers stationed there.

From a distance, he saw two campers from the blue team blocking his way. The two sensed the approaching demigod and raised their swords. Percy didn't stop on running and faced the two head on. At first, the two held their ground but when Percy was nearing, they lost grip of their swords and tried to flee. But they were too slow; Percy bashed them on their heads with the flat of his sword. The two were knocked out easily, sprawled on the ground.

Percy kept on running until he got a clear view of the flag. It appeared to Percy that no one was patrolling around the flag but he didn't let his guard down. He was only a few yards away from the flag but no one attacked, less appeared. He thought that the flag was really left unguarded, but boy was he so wrong. He had no idea what awaited him there.

He was only an arm-reach away from the flag when the atmosphere turned deadly cold – which here meant that Nico di Angelo came to sight. He was 20 feet away from Percy, but the moon refracted enough light to see the smug look he was wearing.

"Percy, Percy, Percy. What took you so long?" Nico asked waving his hand dramatically.

"Di Angelo!" He called with disgust. "How'd you know I'm after the flag?"

"Well, if you have great powers like mine," From there, shadows swirl around him and ate him whole. He suddenly appeared half-way from where he was standing a few seconds ago and Percy. "It would be easy." He continued.

"Shadow travelling." Percy said. "You spied on us!"

"Correct." Nico said. From the shadows, he pulled out a three-foot sword, his black Stygian Ice blade. Percy pulled out Riptide and angled it forward.

Nico circled around Percy slowly, like a predator eyeing his prey. Percy narrowed his eyes, readying for Nico's coming blow.

But what he hadn't expected was, Nico lowered his sword and laughed. Percy was dazed but didn't lower his guard. "Why does it have to be Annabeth?" Percy questioned.

"Ah. Annabeth. She's a really good kisser huh?" Nico smirked.

Percy, in return, just glared.

"She has this little owl birth mark in the cheek of her left breast, you know." Nico snickered. "I find it really cute." Percy was fuming with anger. His right grip was shaking uncontrollably.

Nico, then, heaved a contented sigh. "I just love cupping those sweet rounded tits." He said raising his hands like he was actually holding Annabeth's upper body part, while wearing a hungry coyote-like face. Percy exploded.

He let out a scream and lunged at Nico. "I'LL KILL YOU!" But Nico didn't even move. Riptide passed through him clean but all he did was laugh. This confused Percy.

"H-how!" He uttered. What he hit was only a shadow form of Nico. He looked around searching for the source of the laugh. But it sounded as if the voice was coming from everywhere. "You stole Annabeth, what else do you want from me?"

"Sweet mother of Hades! You're really dense, aren't you?" Nico appeared across from him, but Percy was not sure if it was real or only a shadow imitating the form of Nico. "I can't believe Annabeth put up with you. Well, no wonder she left you, your stupidity is a real pain in the ass."

Percy thought of what to do. He just can't charge at him without knowing if the person in front of him was real. He looked around him with only his eyes moving. He thought of throwing the flag like a javelin but it was too far from him.

Beside him was a stone the size of a fist, a thin twig with leaves still attached on it and a burnt shoe without laces. He can kick the shoe towards Nico but seeing that it was burnt thoroughly, it might just shrivel to ashes. He can throw the twig but it was too thin it might land not too far away from him, plus the drag the leaves will produce it won't be of much help. The only option left was the stone the size of a fist.

Without thinking more, he rolled the stone with his right foot letting the stone settle over his foot. He kicked upward lifting the stone below shoulder-level. With swift skill, he batted the stone with his sword and it coursed towards Nico. The sound produced was so unpleasant I don't want to describe it, but it got Nico to stop describing Annabeth in horrid graphic terms.

As expected, the stone passed right through the figure and the shadows swirled then vanished into thin air. This pissed Percy off, a lot. "Don't bullshit the bullshit-er, Nico! Tell me what it really is you want!"

Nico emerged from the shadows not far from Percy. The amused look was replaced by a vengeful one. "Children of Hades are best known for holding grudges. And I tell you, I don't take grudges lightly." His eyes were blazing with resentment. His voice was oozing vengeance.

As the gears turned in Percy's mind, everything became clear. "This is about Bianca, isn't it?" He asked. Regret was clearly heard from his voice.

Hearing Bianca's name, Nico's eyes flickered. Shadows build around him swirling in a shadow-y, dark way. "Don't you dare say her name again or I'll let your soul get a taste of Underworld."

"You may be the son of the dead, but you can't kill me. You may have forgotten your own plan, I swam at the-" Percy stopped mid-sentence as he saw what Nico was doing.

Nico raised his hand and above it, shadows formed a sphere-like bolt of dark energy, similar to that of Hades'. "Wrong! I just know how to kill you!"

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><p><strong>EN: I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you. Anyway, I accept criticisms, as long as it is constructive and does not purposely mean to hurt someone. If you find my style of writing disturbing, please say it on a review as well. Comments, suggestions, reactions are welcome.**

**EDIT:  
><strong>

**Sorry for being MIA for 5months or more. I won't make any excuses but I'll tell this, sh!t university. I hope all the people who came to love this story will still follow this and still give wonderful reviews.**

**Sorry if you were expecting a new chapter. But rest assured. The next chapter will be posted as soon as it is ready. There will be similar notifications in your inbox saying that The Celestial Noble was updated though. Those would be the beta-read versions of the chapters already posted. You can read them if you want. Though, there weren't any changes on the plot. So, your choice. **

*********If it notifies you that iamasupehero posted CHAPTER 10, then that is the chapter you've been waiting for.****  
><strong>

**Sincerely,**

**iamasuperhero**


	4. Chapter 3

****EDIT: This is the beta-read version. Special thanks to Roxas 666 for beta-reading this.****

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><p><strong><strong>Ψ<strong>**

_**The Celestial Noble: The Eluding Prelude**_

**_Chapter 3  
><em>**

_Winter, Camp Half-Blood_

_~Percy~_

**Ψ**

_~ Goodbye my love. Goodbye my hopeless dream. ~_

The silence of the night was screaming along the deep forest. The tension in the atmosphere was so thick almost as if one can throw a bolt of destruction spiced with gloom and doom through it.

Deep within the forest, a clump of campers were wandering around, speaking in whispers. "Are they still following us?" Travis Stoll, the head counsellor of Hermes cabin asked. The rest of his crew shrugged and paused for a deep gasped of air.

To answer his question, "There they are!" an Aphrodite child alerted her allies and took a chase with the red team's decoy.

Across the narrow creek, unpleasant sounds of metal hitting metal were heard. _Clank! Clank!_ The raiding team were having a hard time keeping up with the fight against the enemy team. They kept on falling for booby traps set up by the Hephaestus cabin. They lost campers after campers until about eight of them remained still ready to fight ten Athena kids a few yards away from them. Clarisse La Rue, head counsellor of Ares cabin, let out a battle cry and attacked the last set of campers.

From that narrow creek, beyond a deeper realm of the forest, lay a vast grassy field surrounded by the tallest, sturdiest Redwood trees you can see. Looking at a bird's eye view, the field would be a good substitute for a circular arena using the trees as walls.

But never mind those Redwood trees, nor the vast circular field that looked like a battle arena, let us focus on the two demigods present there when the silence of the cold, dreary night was deafening and when the tension was so thick one can throw a bolt of destruction spiced with gloom and doom through it.

But of course a bolt of purple flames was in fact hurling towards a demigod with soft sea green eyes slightly covered by ruffled raven black hair. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, hero of Olympus, raised his three-foot celestial bronze sword. He waited for the perfect moment and deflected the energy ball.

Though he was able to swat it away, he still felt the immense burning cold the dark flames radiated. He was lucky he wasn't hit but the tree behind him wasn't.

A deafening screech was heard behind him. Imagine yourself having the sweetest dream interrupted by the sound of a pair of metal pots being banged by a creepy old man standing beside your bed with the nastiest smile in his worn out face, and bright shiny eyes below his wiggling eyebrow. Horrid isn't it? You'd probably scoot farther into your bed, hide under your blanket, cover your ears and face with a pillow, and shut your eyes so tight that your face scrunched up.

Anyway, Percy felt the same way. He dropped Riptide and covered his ears with his hands. This, however, was music to Nico's ears, the music of death as he calls it. Percy glanced over his shoulder where the screech emanated and what he saw was beyond any nightmares of monsters hiding under his bed when he was 5 years old.

A burning tree, that's what he saw. And from the Redwood tree, a girl emerged. The girl with mahogany skin and auburn hair was engulfed in dark purple flames. She tried to extinguish the fire by running and flailing. But with no avail, she lost her life as the tree burned to ashes.

"You demon!" Percy screamed. He charged at full speed towards Nico. In a blink he was in front of him and gave him a fatal slash. The blow was so fierce sparks flew. Both eyes held such anger that even the strongest warrior would wet his pants and flee out of fear and embarrassment.

Percy threw swift and strong slashes. He swung his sword skilfully but Nico was able to block all of it. _Hack! Slash! Whap! Duck! Lunge! _They fell on that routine as no one grew restless. Alas! Nico missed a foot giving an opening for Percy to attack. Without any hesitations, Percy pierced Riptide towards the feared face of Nico.

"Die!" He bellowed. It was a lethal blow. With the force Percy put, it could have killed Nico in an instant, but he missed and was only able to land a scratch on his cheek. Nico quickly raised his foot and kicked Percy in the chest. The wind was knocked out of him as he landed on the grassy land.

He coughed uncontrollably as he clutched his chest. Soon he gained his stance and started to attack again. They were equal in power, strength, and skill. _How did Nico gain so much power in such a short time? _Percy thought. He kept on wondering that, and he didn't see an upper jab towards his unguarded abdomen.

The fist connected making Percy bend his body. Nico then bashed the sword's hilt on his face. Even though he had the curse of Achilles, it hurt him hard and a bruise appeared. He staggered backward but was still able to stand, using Riptide as a cane.

The night was getting cold but the fight between Nico di Angelo and Percy Jackson was still on heat. Sweat trickled on the demigods' face. They kept their death glares at each other while circling waiting who will attack first.

Nico stopped suddenly and stared at the ground. "Serve me!" He bellowed under his breath. Percy had seen Nico do this before but he hadn't expected the horde of skeletons that emerged from the split ground.

Hundreds of dead Greek soldiers crawled from hell led by Alexander the Great himself, riding on a horse. The horse neighed and all the dead soldiers charged Percy. "Attack, minions!" Nico screamed again.

Before, Percy thought Nico's powers were cool. But now, when all this skeletal soldiers were about to kill him, Percy thought otherwise. He raised Riptide and angled it forward. He let out a self battle cry and charged the army of the dead. The front line of the army lowered their spears and advanced.

Percy crashed into their line and started hacking and slashing with Riptide. He whirled through the platoon, slashing soldier after soldier. He was a whirling gust of chaos. He slammed into Alexander and sending both of them tumbling on the ground. Alexander unsheathed his sword and began stabbing at Percy.

Percy couldn't find an opening on the great Alexander. His sword skills were not matched with the great conqueror. Soon, he was worn out and panting before his enemies. He glanced around and realized there was nothing left from the army Nico summoned except Alexander and piles of spears, swords, and shields on the ground. _Only two enemies left. _Percy thought.

He was also thinking of how to defeat the two that he didn't notice why he can't hear anything across the field. Was the game finished? Had everybody gone back to their cabins and not noticed two demigods missing? But wait, how can the game be finished if the flag was still here and he hadn't seen any campers holding their own flag? The only answer that I can provide is I don't know. It seemed that the two were magically transported to an isolated place away from camp and the battling campers.

"Where is everybody?" Percy asked. He kept on glancing around and noticed that his surroundings were still familiar to him. From the crowd of Redwood trees, Connor Stoll appeared. A hopeful smile appeared on Percy's facade but soon faded.

"Where in Tartarus are you Perce?" Connor hissed under his breath. "Argh! The flag should be here!"

Percy was confused, terribly confused. Can Connor see neither Percy nor Nico? But they were just 30 feet away from him, how can he not see them? Percy waved at Connor and called him. "Connor! Connor! I'm here!"

"Cut it Jackson." Nico said. "He can neither see you, hear you nor smell you. You're in my realm, my shadow." Percy's confusion grew more. "Alexander! Finish him!"

"Yes my lord." Alexander responded. He attacked Percy relentlessly. It was raining slashes, but the short break earlier was enough for Percy to recover. Percy quickened his pace, his senses opened up. He could see every attacks coming and was able to counter it. Then, he saw a small chance and tried the disarming move Luke taught him. The blade hit the base of Alexander's. He twisted and thrust Riptide downward with full force. Surely, the sword clattered on the ground. He turned a full 360 and pierced Riptide towards the undefended chest of Alexander.

He slowly removed Riptide from the skeletal chest of the double-dead Greek. The lifeless body thumped on the ground and disintegrated into dust.

Nico recovered from shock when he saw Percy walking towards him swinging Riptide at his side. He couldn't see his eyes though because the sweaty raven black hair was covering the shining sea-green eyes of the sea god's child.

Nico di Angelo raised his hands and extended his fingers. Flames flickered to life, curls of dark purple fire dancing above the tips of each finger. "Shadow flame. It will devour any living creature it laid touch on. The flames will cover its whole body and suck the soul of the creature. No _curse_ can save anyone from my flames."

He then positioned his hand downward and flames burst out that propelled him towards Percy. A unique jet propulsion system, as it were. He glided over the grass burning it on a meter-radius scale in the process. Percy, in the other hand, raised Riptide. He was undoubtedly shaking in fear. One hit, just one hit of those cold flames and he's dead. Is it worth it? Do the fates want him dead? No. Percy was in a desperate situation that needed desperate measures to desperately win against the desperate son of Hades.

He thought of an idea, a really, really risky idea. However, he had no choice but to stall him. _He had used so much of his power. Surely, he's weakening by now. A few more minutes and the field barrier will fall and the whole camp will find us. _I don't know he was able to think of those things under such extreme pressure. Nonetheless, he straightened his posture, lowered his guard, and dropped Riptide. The clank of the sword hitting the ground miraculously restrained Nico from advancing.

"What is this?" Nico asked definitely confused of Percy's actions.

"You never got over the death of Bianca huh? From the very start you wanted me dead. You wanted revenge and the only thing that can satisfy your vengeance is my death. You planned this out didn't you?" Percy said. "You had so many chances, why didn't you just kill me then?"

At the mention of Bianca's name, Nico stiffened. "You don't know the half of it. It was a sophistically-engineered plan. A plan that will bring me your death that even the greatest detective would not be able to solve. No one will find out I killed you."

Percy thought of this. "At the river of Styx, you thought I won't live through it?"

"Blah blah blah, it doesn't matter! Instead of chatting, fight me like the hero they say you are! Or are you too chicken?" Nico smirked. Shadows swirled at his left side and from there the hilt of his Stygian sword emerged. He pulled out the nightmare blade and lunged at Percy.

Riptide, being enchanted and all, reappeared in Percy's pocket. He pulled out the pen and quickly uncapped it. The elongating celestial bronze sword blocked Nico's strike. They exchanged quick and strong strikes but neither could break the other's guard.

Neither of them backed down, tiring themselves. Percy didn't use much of his godly powers; hence he had a reserved strength in him. However, Nico was at his limit. Percy saw this and pressed him more with force. He tried again the disarming trick, and luckily, Nico didn't see this. Riptide hit the hilt of the Stygian blade. Percy twisted his sword, leaving Nico with no choice but to drop his blade.

The tip of Riptide was poised an inch away from Nico's frightened face. Around them was silence. Around them campers gathered. In front was Chiron, Connor Stoll who brought the campers there, Annabeth Chase holding the other team's flag, Clarisse La Rue carrying her electric spear and Grover Underwood who broke the silence with his nervous goat-bleat.

Percy glanced at the campers. He heaved a sigh and smile. But the campers of course took it wrongly. From the eyes of every creature crowded that night, they saw an evil Percy holding Nico by his shirt and his sword an inch away from Nico. Then the evil Percy smiled and they thought the unthinkable.

"Holy Minotaur shit! Someone stop them!" The camper with a mole under his left eye shouted.

"Oh no! He's smiling, he's gonna kill him!" An Aphrodite girl with smeared make-up screamed.

"He's out of his mind! He's crazy! He's-" The guy with mole was interrupted by a girl squealing.

"He's handsome!" To their surprise, it was that girl obsessed with Percy. "What! I told you..." Her voice was droned by screams and squeals.

"You, guy with a mole under your left eye, stop them!" I don't know who yelled that and no point knowing anyway.

"Percy. Lad. Lower your sword." Chiron slowly and carefully trotted towards them. "We're just playing a game. No killing. Remember?" He treated him fragilely and talked slowly like he was talking to a child or rather a crazy guy who's about to kill Nico.

Percy, however, was confused by the un-Chiron way his teacher talked. Subconsciously, he tightened his grip on Riptide and Nico's leather armor. "Percy stop!" Annabeth screamed. Hearing the girl's voice fuelled Percy's anger. "Lower your sword please." She pleaded, tears welling in her grey eyes.

Percy was stunned by the way his friends treat him like he was some psycho-killer. Meanwhile, Nico remained calm. He knew Percy can't kill him and he knew as well that he can't kill Percy in front of the campers. He had to think of something. He had to improvise.

Chiron was now two meters away from them. He warily reached his hands forward but stiffened when he heard a shrill cry. "NO!" It was Annabeth who screamed. This surprised Percy and everyone else. It was followed by piercing cries and a deep howl from Nico.

What happened is Nico had moved forward and plunged the sword in an exposed skin where the shoulder meets the neck. Crimson blood splattered on Percy's shocked face. This extremely baffled him.

Instantly, Chiron swatted Riptide aside and held Percy down. And instantly, Annabeth was beside Nico who lay in a pool of blood.

Percy couldn't speak. His voice failed him as he tried to explain that Nico wounded himself. But what they saw was what they saw. And what they saw was Percy plunging the tip of the blade through Nico. It wasn't a deep wound but Nico was a good actor. He made them believed that he was tremendously pained. Foolish Annabeth, she could not see through her boyfriend's acting.

It pains me to tell you what happened next. Annabeth lunged towards Percy, her knife ready to kill. But she was blocked by Grover. Apollo healers immediately ran towards the wounded Nico and carried him again to the infirmary.

Chiron was fuming with anger and disbelief. He knew that Percy was aggrieved by his and Annabeth's break-up. But, his actions were despicable. It was beyond sanity. He sentenced Percy to imprisonment; banning him from camp activities, talking to others, and leaving camp. Five Ares children brought him towards the camp prison that Percy never knew existed. He tried to explain things to Chiron but the centaur didn't listen, nor did anyone else. No one believed him; not even Grover, his best friend. He felt betrayed. He felt alone. He was immensely pained.

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><p><strong>Review Replies:<br>**

**TheMusedNamedPancake: You're the best reviewer ever! Thank you! I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you. Though, I'm not sure if it was the _best effing fight in the history of Percy Jackson Fanfiction_ as you call it. Anyways, you inspired me to write this chapter. Thanks.**

**StroodleMuffin, awesomepossum, Riley Coyote: I'm sure I wan't short with the warning. Yes. Nico is evil here and very much OOC. But I tell you this, there is a reason for his actions. I don't want to say anything more because I might spill the plot. So, can we just please bear the OOCness of Nico. I myself don't like how Nico is evil here.**

**StrawberriesR-awesome: The Celestial Noble is a series. The first book focuses on the time Percy leaves camp and how and why he left. Anyway, one or two more chapters left and percy leaves camp.**

**To those who reviewed, THANK YOU! :)**

**Sincerely,**

**iamasuperhero  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 4

****EDIT: A big thank you to Roxas 666 for beta-reading this.****

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><p><strong><strong>Ψ<strong>**

_**The Celestial Noble: The Eluding Prelude**_

**_Chapter 4  
><em>**

_Winter, Camp Prison  
><em>

_~Percy~_

**Ψ**

_~ Where your heart is where my treasure lies. ~_

_**I know a story of a young lady named Truth who took a swim in a lake near the town where she grew up. Unknown to her, she was being followed by an envious lady named Falsehood. This lady followed suit, which meant that she went bathing at the lake too. She came first out of the water and dressed herself in Truth's garment. Truth, unwilling to wear those of Falsehood, went naked. And that was the story of the ****Naked Truth****.**_

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><p>The expression the <em>naked truth<em> doesn't really refer to a naked lady named Truth. Instead, it refers to the truth kept secret that has been revealed. During Percy's stay in the prison, truths were stripped naked in front of him. First in the list was that there was indeed a den in camp Half-Blood, and that he wasn't the first thrown in.

The prison was that of the medieval times. Outside, it took a form of a cave, making it seem like not a dungeon. Only Chiron and the gods knew of the location, thus the campers had no idea of its whereabouts. Chiron led the way and behind him were five Ares campers and the sentenced prisoner. Percy Jackson was bound by a metal wrist cuff and roughly dragged by the Ares campers. Though, I'm not sure why they dragged him that way when Percy wasn't even showing signs of struggling.

They kept on travelling until the trees were as tall as skyscrapers and the sky was completely blotted by leaves. Percy tried to be aware of his surroundings but his sense of direction left him. Finally they stopped, and before them was a hundred foot cliff that even the bravest satyr would not be able to climb.

Percy was confused along with the escorts, but knowing Chiron, the prison must have been hidden there somewhere. The centaur then chanted ancient words that weren't familiar with Percy. Chiron placed his hands on the cliff and green lines raced across the cliff that soon outlined a rune with circles and curved lines. Then, light burst from the rune that lit the forest green.

When the light died, the entrance which was hidden by a large round limestone boulder, easily rolled away as silent as the night. They marched inside and Percy felt a strange feeling in him, fear. It was disturbingly dark inside especially when your eyes were exposed in bright light. This made Percy squint his eyes a dozen times. Slowly, fire blazed from the wall-mounted torches, producing dim orange light. Before them was a hallway that seemed to be endless. It must've been long, since the light wouldn't reach the other end. They walked inside in silence. Everyone was in awe of what they saw, that they seem to forget it was a dungeon.

The walls were piles of brick painted with blood-red color. Beside the first torch was a ring of keys hooked on a nail curved that the head points upward. Chiron reached for it and started walking again. No one started a conversation for an unknown reason. The night was silent and a thick atmosphere layered around them. They passed cell after cell.

Each were like animal cages barred by metal bars. But the poles weren't made of ordinary metal. They were made of celestial bronze, magically enchanted so that they could withstand any force. A prisoner has no way out once thrown in the cellar. Some cells they passed were once occupied but now habited by a pile of human bone, rats and assortments of wild insects. The sight sent shivers along Percy's spine. The silence was broken by Chiron's voice and the rattling of keys.

"Take him inside." His voice was low. His face wore a grim look mixed with a glare never seen from the teacher's facade. The Ares campers took Percy's arms and dragged him towards the open cell. This time, Percy struggled.

"I'm telling you the truth Chiron! Nico was trying to kill me! If you will just listen to me-" He was interrupted by a sharp pain on his back. One of the campers kicked him so hard it brought him to his knees.

"What we saw is enough to explain everything! You stabbed Nico for your selfish revenge!" Chiron directed his glare on the demigod kneeling in front of him. "Don't put the blame on other people's shoulders."

"But!" Percy tried to reason but Chiron backhanded him on his right cheek. The sound resounded down the hallway followed by a flinch. No one knew who did but it sure wasn't Percy. To someone bearing no curse, the pain would have been strong enough to make the person cry. Percy, however, felt no pain on his skin but on his heart. He couldn't believe his teacher hit him. He couldn't believe the events that unfolded in his life. Everything in his life was falling apart. He lost his friends. Annabeth, Grover, Nico, Chiron and everyone else. Soon, he lost the most important person in his life.

His stay inside the prison was beyond any experience he ever had before. He was given no food, no water, no anything. He tried to count the days that passed but having no windows or any means of looking outside, he failed. Slowly, his soul was deteriorating. He felt no significance in his life anymore. Maybe, he had done his purpose in earth. He defended Olympus. He defeated Kronos. He fulfilled the prophecy. His time had come, he believed. The fates will soon cut the string of his life and his soul will wander around the underworld.

_Will I achieve Elysium? _He snorted. _Probably the Fields of Punishment. _He laughed like a lunatic thinking of his future. Maybe he had gone crazy like the other campers said.

Days had passed and he looked thinner and thinner. His skin was so pale one might say he was a son of Hades. His bones were etched on his skin, for he hadn't eaten since he was thrown in. One time, he was staring off in space. His mouth was slightly open and breathing was short and ragged. Then, the strangest thing had happened. The ground shook and dust crumbled down from the wall. The shake never ceased but grew stronger and stronger. Soon, the torches were unhooked from the wall and fell on the ground. This set fire on the ground. The whole dungeon was ablaze. Percy was snapped from his empty thoughts and saw the reality. Everything was on fire except for his cell. Weird. But something weirder happened.

A burst of light filled the prison. Not from the fire, but from an unknown presence. The light was so strong and bright that Percy thought the heavens had opened and angels were taking him away. Percy covered his eyes using his thin arms to block out the extreme light. Soon, it died. Around him, the fire had died as well. Everything was back in its place. The torches were mounted on the wall. There were no signs of charred wood and brick. _Was I hallucinating?_ He thought. _But the shake felt so real... and the heat...and the light..._

"It was all real, young hero." The voice was so calm, soothing but strong. Hearing it brought strength to his body. He turned towards the voice and saw a tall man cloaked with white. The stranger walked towards Percy and extended a hand. Percy never removed his gaze on the man's face. He noticed that the man had white long and straight hair flowing down his back. He couldn't see his eyes though. It was glowing so strong he had to tear his gaze away. Under the cloak was a white armor with tints of gold. Strapped on the man's side was a long sword sheathed with, of course, white. But the hilt was gold in color. Percy then looked at the outstretched hand before him. He stared at it first and carefully placed his hand into the stranger's.

"Who are you?" Percy finally asked.

"I am the god of light and the upper heaven. My name is Aether, young hero." The god, Aether, smiled and helped Percy on his feet. "Thou art not safe here anymore. Come and seek refuge in my house." Percy nodded and soon, they were enclosed by a sphere of light. In a matter of seconds, the prison was empty, leaving no trace of Percy staying there.

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><p><em><strong>5 years later.<strong>_

_Camp Half-Blood_

Five years passed and the camp had never been the same. The _world_ had never been the same. Monsters of different kinds popped out everywhere, and the campers had a difficult time containing them. The number of campers depleted. Many were killed by monsters and some just vanished without trace. The camp tried to stay strong, but the fact that there were no more campers adding to their population weakened them.

The only hope they had was creating an elite of demigods with first-rate skills in weaponry, battle strategy, and godly powers. The notion was opened at the council of the Olympians. After undergoing a process of deep deliberation, the Olympians approved it and the first group of elites were formed. The group was similar to the Hunters of Artemis, being immortal and all. They were even trained by the gods themselves. The Elite mostly consisted of the campers that fought during the Titan war. They were built with 30 campers led by Clarisse La Rue, a demigod daughter of Ares, the strongest of them all. Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena, and a great battle strategist, followed in command.

_**You might ask what happened with Annabeth and Nico, well, Nico left her. Then, he just vanished without word. It left Annabeth broken. Extremely-death-at-a-point broken. She lost Percy who she still loves. She lost Nico who played with her and left her without getting her revenge. She lost Grover and Thalia who she considers her remaining best friends. She lost her pride.**_

_**The camp had no news of Percy or Nico's whereabouts. They lost contact with the underworld, hence they couldn't know if the two were dead. The Olympians had told Chiron that the underworld is in turmoil and they couldn't do anything about it.**_

_**A year ago, a greater threat for Olympus rose. They found out that Gaea, the great mother, was waking and seeking revenge for the loss of her son, Kronos. She was waking the twelve Giants that put Olympus in great havoc once and soon will bring it again. And so, the Elite of demigods were created with an aim to defeat the threat. But can they? Was Gaea the only threat? What if there is something more evil rising? Can they manage to preserve the glory of Olympus, or it will crumble down to dust and leave the world in chaos?**_

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><p><em>Throne Room, Olympus<em>

Up in Olympus, the gods were gathered around the throne room. They were engrossed in a deep argument. They had just received a message that Mt. Othrys was rising again. This time, led by Krios and other few Titans.

"We must send the Elites!" roared Ares. "Those scrawny Titans won't know what will hit them."

"For once I agree with Ares," Dionysus said. "The Elites are more than ready. They can take on the Titans head on."

"Weren't you listening, Dionysus?" Artemis laid her opinion. "The enemy has thousands of monsters deployed in every state. We don't even know if the Titans are working with mother Gaea." This silenced Dionysus but Ares would never back down. War is the only way for him.

Ares grunted. "With the Elites power, they can easily-"

"Enough!" Zeus, King of the gods, bellowed. The air crackled and smelled of ozone. "Athena, what is your say?"

"Artemis has a point. There is a high possibility that the Titans are working for Gaea. This, of course, brings greater threat for us. Sending the Elites may be suicide." Athena reasoned.

"You doubt the capabilities of the Elites, Athena? When you very much know that it is you and I who trained them." Ares retorted.

"Are you really that dense Ares?" Apollo asked. "If ever that the Titans are allied with Gaea and the Giants, that only spells DOOM for Olympus. If you even know how to spell doom." Apollo murmured the last sentence to himself but Hermes was able to hear him and stifled a laugh.

Silence fell on the throne room. "So we know the minus situations, what about the positives?" Poseidon broke the silence.

"A clever question from a fish god." Athena said. Poseidon took it as a compliment and directed a smile to the goddess. "We won't stand a chance against them, unless..." Her voice trailed.

"Unless?" The gods present there repeated the word.

"Unless we receive help from an outside force." Athena responded, looking directly at the King. Zeus raised an eyebrow curious of what force Athena was referring. The other gods were curious as well but Poseidon, Demeter and the present Hestia were beyond shocked. Zeus noticed their reactions and asked Athena to explain her cause.

"When I was reading in my library, I stumbled upon an old book talking about an eternal war between light and darkness. Curious that I am, I read the book through." Athena relayed the story of the book and her point of bringing up the idea of an outside army that may help them.

"But as you said, they have their own war to fight. How sure are you that they will offer help?" It was Artemis who asked the question.

"They are our only hope." Athena answered.

"Very well, how do we contact them?" Zeus asked. It was an answer that Athena couldn't answer. She never thought of it, but Hestia did.

"I have lived long enough and witnessed the never-ending war between the father and son. I will direct the message to them," said Hestia.

"Good. The council is dismissed. I expect everyone to be back by nightfall." Zeus ordered and every Olympians teleported out of the room.

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><p>The night came and the gods were gathered again at the throne room. No one spoke a word. They were all waiting for Hestia with her news. Their wait wasn't long because Hestia entered the room with a smile in her face.<p>

"Sister, Hestia, how was it?" Poseidon asked. To answer his question, a beacon of light approached the center of the room. The intensity of the stream of light made everyone look away and cover their eyes. When the light subsided, they saw a tall man with white robe standing where the light touched the ground. The man had long white hair shining like gold. His eyes were the brightest sky blue they had ever seen. The man was Aether, the god of light and upper heaven.

Zeus broke the silence and greeted the primordial god. "Welcome Lord Aether."

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><p><strong>End Notes:<strong>

**I know. There's not much action in this chapter but it has to be written in order to set up the later scenes. The next chapter will be uploaded tomorrow or the day after. I assure you that. So, how was it? Please, I need your comments and suggestions guys.**

**Guys, do you want this as a Percabeth story or not? Cause I'm thinking of pairing Percy to a certain goddess. **

**If you can kindly state your opinion, who do you think should I pair Percy with?**

**a. Artemis**

**b. Annabeth**

**c. Other options (please specify) LOL**

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><p><strong>Review replies! :) To all those who reviewed, THANK YOU!<strong>

**Riley Coyote: No, Nico is still alive. Percabeth? I'm not sure. But it is unlikely, unless the poll will say otherwise. No, this is not a Chaos story.**

**The Olympian Scribe: Thank you for the advice. And you're right, I have to betaread the chapter first before uploading it. I read the past chapters and found mistakes. I'm going to fix those now. And, true, readers tend to stop reading when they found the story confusing. Anyways, thank you for sticking up to my story and I hope to see more of your reviews. Thanks.**

**StroodleMuffin: Hey! I love your idea about the demigods who mysteriously disappeared! Thanks! Although, I'm gonna use it for the next book in the series. The latter will tell us the life of Percy Jackson during the five year time skip. So, it will start during Percy's stay in camp prison. I hope you'll stay tuned and review for the later chapters. Thank you!**

**Review people!**

**Sincerely,**

**iamasuperhero**


	6. Chapter 5

**As promised, here's the next chapter. There will be some action scene here. But not too deep. Thank you to all those who reviewed and answered the 'poll.' I'm a man of reason. I listen with reason. My life is governed by reason. Reading all those gave their opinions, I found some who gave a strong argument. And I have decided the perfect pair. Clue: it is not Artemis. This is too long. Off with the chapter now.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. The name Sixtus is based on Neil Gaiman's Stardust. I give him credit.**

*******EDIT: Special thanks to my awesome beta-reader, Roxas 666 for reviewing this.  
><strong>**

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><p><strong><strong>Ψ<strong>**

_**The Celestial Noble: The Eluding Prelude**_

**_Chapter 5  
><em>**

_Throne Room, Olympus  
><em>

_~Percy~_

**Ψ**

"It is my honor, Lord Zeus." Aether responded. "Lady Hestia has told me of your predicament; and, we came to a conclusion that we will offer help."

"We?" Athena, being the wise goddess, noticed the pronoun used by the guest. "You mean your army of _Light_?"

"Mind your manners Athena. Lord Aether is a special guest on Olympus." Zeus warned the goddess.

Aether answered with a smile and nodded. "Yes Lady Athena. The _Light_ will respond to your cause."

"We appreciate your response Aether." Hera, Queen of the gods, said, "We know of your own war, and we will provide help when needed."

"I appreciate your offer as well, Queen Hera." Aether bowed. "I have informed one of my Nobles and he will be here soon." Shortly, another beacon of light approached beside Aether. It died as fast as it came; from the stream of light a form of a man on a bent-knee appeared.

"My Lord." The new guest greeted Aether.

"Rise, Sixtus." Aether ordered. The Noble called Sixtus rose and straighten his posture. Sixtus was in full-gear armor made of a white metal outlined with gold. Along the neckline of his breastplate ran a scarf made of a white fox's tail and a golden cape flowing down his back. On his breastplate was an emblem – a figure of a sword embossed with a Pegasus' wings sprouting near the sides of the hilt. Strapped on his side was a long sword with golden hilt. His face was covered with an eye visor outlined with sea-green, showing only the lower portion of the jaw. On his left cheek was a number tattooed, "06."

Every Olympians cast a searching look upon Sixtus, but no one succeeded to see his eyes for they were bursting with a blinding light.

"Greet the Olympians, Sixtus." Aether whispered to his Noble.

"Council of Olympus, I am Sixtus, sixth of the twelve Celestial Nobles, warrior of the light. I offer my services in defeating Gaea and her force." He raised his sword and bowed shortly.

"Welcome to Olympus. It is a pleasure to have you here." Hera said. Everyone else nodded.

"How come we never knew of the existence of this army?" It was Dionysus who presented the question.

"It was long ago when the war between light and darkness started." Aether explained. "My father, Erebus, the primordial god of darkness, strived to bring the world back in darkness. He created an army he called _Shadow_ that will do his biddings. I, his son and being the god of light, dedicated my eternal life in annihilating the Shadow."

Zeus, sensing that the story may take a long time, waved his hand and a throne appeared on the center beside the hearth. Aether took his seat gently and continued telling the history. "I built a bond of chivalrous warriors as the army that will contain the Shadow. They are called the Warriors of Light."

Hephaestus, who rarely submits to the council, asked a clever question. "Your warrior, Sixtus," He gave the latter a small nod and continued, "mentioned Twelve Celestial Nobles?" Every single god and goddess present began to murmur with each other. "What are they?"

"Alike with the Elite of demigods, they are the finest of all the warriors in weaponry, battle skills and strategy, speed and agility. Their reflexes are enhanced by twentyfold making them the best fighter in a battlefield." Aether explained.

"I see," Hephaestus murmured to himself. "Warriors of best battle skills... hmph... but human, automatons are much better."

What the god said piqued Hestia's curiosity. She was in her 16 year-old form and was tending the hearth. She gave a smile towards Sixtus and asked, "Are you a demigod?"

"I was once a demigod, my Lady." Sixtus responded. "I have turned down my past identity and now live as Sixtus, a Celestial Noble." Everyone wore confused faces. Aphrodite, however, was staring and battling eyelashes at him.

"I thought the warriors are demigod children of you, Lord Aether." Demeter laid her thoughts.

Aether cleared his throat and was about to speak when Athena interrupted him. "As I have read, the warriors are assortments of mortals and demigods who abandoned their lives and needed refuge. They were bonded by an oath of services for the light. It doesn't mean that they are Lord Aether's children."

"What the Lady told is true, but rather incomplete. The warriors are people I stumbled upon. People who lost hope and everything they value in life. People toyed by the world, the fates and the gods. Nevertheless, they are people who showed the qualities of a hero, a knight, and a noble, those who can value the authenticity of the Code of Chivalry and Light." Aether clarified.

Sixtus continued. "And if a person, regardless of status, gender and race, showed those qualities, they are offered the chance of service to protect life and be one of us, immortals."

"Well spoken, Noble." Ares' voice was oozing with sarcasm and annoyance. "You speak highly of yourself! People who lost hope... code of chivalry." He said mimicking them, "Words don't kill, Noble! You need action to prove yourself."

"ARES!" Zeus bellowed! He glared at the war god with dismay. "Behave yourself!"

"But father!" Ares said back. "I say, we give him a test to see how _powerful_ they say they are!" Zeus thought about this for a moment and decided to reject Ares. But what Sixtus said next made him think otherwise.

"I never refuse a challenge from an equal." He said. "I accept the challenge." This angered Zeus. Thunder roared outside and the tension in the room grew thicker.

"Very well, foolish boy, you shall have your challenge. Ares, show him how the Olympians fight." Zeus jeered.

"Gladly!" Ares stood and his weapons materialized in his hands. His usual biker outfit changed into a general class Spartan armor. He held two identical long swords with blood red color. Ares circled around Sixtus mocking him with words-even-rated T-cannot-cover level. "Ready to get your ass whipped?" Of course he had to say the cliché taunt phrase.

Ares charged at him delivering strong strikes with his dual swords. But Sixtus was calmly dodging them. Ares was definitely having a hard time landing a hit. The Noble was too fast for him the god was unable to predict his movements.

No one can say that the fight was on because Sixtus hadn't unsheathed his sword. He was only dodging and showed no sign of going offense. Ares kept on charging but to no avail. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. Then, he thought of an attack that will surely trap Sixtus. He swung both swords sideways, Sixtus in between. Truly, no one can escape the swift attack unless he steps backwards. But the Noble made no attempt of dodging or defending himself.

_Ha! Weakling! _Ares thought. He was looking smug as he swung the blades. The blades passed through but penetrated nothing but air. In front of Ares were ripples of air. Sixtus had disappeared. His smug face instantly faded away replaced by confusion and disbelief.

Suddenly, Sixtus appeared behind Ares. He quickly elbowed the god in his back and landed a roundhouse kick on his neck. His cape danced in the air along his motion. The god of war was sent flying, and crashed down at the base of his throne. He struggled, getting up on his feet. He used his two swords as canes for support. His knees wobbled but he managed to stand again. The side of his face was bruised but he still smiled devilishly and cracked his neck.

"Is that all you got, Noble?" Ares mocked.

"Never underestimate your opponent." Sixtus said.

Ares growled and continued his barrage of slashes. This time, his moves were unorthodox and his mind clouded with anger. He attacked with a powerful leaping strike that was difficult to block or parry; but Sixtus made a surprising move. He sidestepped and finally unsheathed his sword. It was made of the finest silver-white metal, ethereal silver – lighter and stronger than celestial bronze. The hilt was made of gold with tints of a sea-green hue, and at the center of the cross guard was an emblem alike with that of his breastplate.

Sixtus hit Ares' abdomen with the flat of his sword. When the god's back was curved at an odd position, Sixtus pummelled with the hilt of the sword, hitting the exposed skin of the neck. Ares howled in pain and face-planted down on the marble floor.

All the Olympians were awed by the power and skills of the Noble in their presence. A truly remarkable warrior, they thought. Zeus, on the other hand, was disappointed and ashamed for his son, the god of war. Aphrodite winced when Ares' body landed with a loud thud.

Sensing that the fight was over, Sixtus retreated at the base of the throne of Aether. He sheathed his sword and calmly turned his back at Ares and walked. A grave mistake. Ares slowly rose. He was filled with anger, and a red aura surrounded him. The air reeked of bloodlust. He couldn't accept that he was humiliated by a demigod in front of the council. He found renewed strength and shouted, "The fight is not over!"

His dual blades materialized at his hands and this time, they were glowing red. He charged at an unthinkable speed towards Sixtus. He was a blur of red. Sixtus turned around in the nick of time. Their swords collided, sparks flying near them. Ares attacked with stronger force making the Noble step backwards. He was a few meters away from the wall when he began to fight back. They exchanged hard and strong blows but neither could wound the other.

They were equal in strength but the Noble did not rely on it only. He strategized and woke his enhanced reflexes. He could see Ares' every moves and tried to make a pattern from them. _Whap! Thack! Whap! Thack! Clank! _The god was only offense, no defence. He studied for a few more exchanges. And then, there! He saw it. Ares left side was wide open. Perfect for a quick thrust. The sword connected and pierced his side. Golden Ichor sprayed from the fresh wound.

Ares suppressed the pain and swiped his sword. Sixtus saw it and made an attempt to dodge. He was a second delayed so the sword grazed the exposed skin of his arm. The wound wasn't deep, but the pain and burning sensation was intense. _An enchanted blade! _Sixtus realized.

Sixtus pulled his sword back and launched a downward thrust at Ares. He hit Ares' left cheek and another wound appeared. He then ducked under another swipe from the god. Turning a full three hundred sixty, he appeared behind Ares and slashed at his thigh. This made Ares drop to his knees. He then slashed at Ares' right arm. The wound was long, reaching from his shoulder down to his elbow. Before Ares could recover, Sixtus delivered slash after slash. Blood sprayed and screams filled the room. The next thing the Olympians saw was a god of war sprawled out in a pool of his own Ichor. His breathing was shallow. He's not dead of course. He's immortal. But immortals can be horribly injured and feel pain. And that is what happened to the obnoxious, arrogant Ares.

Everyone's jaw hit the ground. They were all surprised by the battle and the outcome. They never expected the Noble to be that strong. Sixtus broke the pregnant silence. "You are a great fighter Ares. But even strength must bow to wisdom sometimes." The last sentence caught Athena. She vaguely remembered speaking the line with her favorite daughter.

The Noble carried the limp body of Ares and walked back at the center circle. Apollo, the god of the sun and medicine, rushed towards them and took Ares from him. "Thank you, Lord Apollo." Sixtus said.

Apollo was shock. He didn't expect the powerful Noble to be humble and polite. He gave him a smile and started healing Ares. No one knew what to say. They wanted to compliment the skills of the Noble but doubted to do so. It was Demeter who spoke. She clapped and said to the council, "Well, I guess Olympus is safe in the hands of the Celestial Noble." She looked at Aether and Sixtus. "I trust the other eleven Nobles will offer their help too."

Aether spoke, "If the situation asks for it, then I will send the other Nobles. But I can't guarantee all of them, for we have our own war to deal with. Sixtus, bring the Sixth Carabineer. You shall stay at Camp Half-Blood to protect and aid them."

"But my Lord-" Sixtus interjected.

"You have been given an order, Sixtus. I trust that you will do your duties with valour." Aether said sternly. Sixtus agreed with a bow. "We will take our leave now, King Zeus. I will send my warriors tomorrow."

Zeus, who had been oddly quiet, dismissed the council. "The meeting is adjourned." But before everyone teleported away, the throne room doors suddenly opened and a demigod hurriedly enter."

"My Lords, Ladies, Camp Half-Blood is in danger! Monsters of different kinds are lurking outside. The borders will no longer hold them off!"

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><p><strong>End Notes:<strong>

**How was it guys? I hope it didn't disappoint you. Sixtus, I believe you know who he is already. If you have some questions or suggestions, feel free to ask or tell me, either in a form of Review or PM.**

**You know what people? I am very flattered for the amount of reviews I've been receiving. So, thank you! And I hope to see more of your reviews in the succeeding chapters.**

* * *

><p><strong>Review Replies:<strong>

**Megan5162, eskman, demigod of the sea, chunk li, darkwolf0909, zeynel, godoftheseas21, Roxas666: **thank you for your wonderful reviews. You are the people who reasoned with me and gave me the idea of having a Percy Hestia pairing. (There I said it. :D)

**James317, becky199756, wamakima, scyther27, max ride rocks, ocean muffins 32, mandalore, riley coyote, hannibalrider, sanelaa, chloexo, a smart little cookie, laxrocks4, percy Jackson 7, awesomeness-rocks: **Your opinions were put into deep consideration. Artemis is a good pair for Percy, but seeing that 'eternal maidenhood' is an integral part of her character, I can't deviate the greek mythology. I hope Hestia and Percy will be up to your tastes. Thank you.

**wacko12: **WOW. The awesome wacko12 reviewed! :) Thank you!

**Sykolife: **You may be right in saying that nothing else will work with Percy. But I think, Hestia is in good par. I hope you will see the story through until the end. Thank you.

**Rico999 perceabeth darkliliyofthevalley reader123: **I know how much you love Percabeth. But please try this story out even if it's not percabeth. HOWEVER, I assure there will be PERCY ANNABETH interactions. Thank you!

**Iamswimminginthestyx The Olympian Scribe mytical-mist-devil outofthisworldgal Nico is Boss Beast7 evil1234 strawberriesR-awesome fayejadelyn: **Thank you for your reviews! Hope to see you in the succeeding chapters.

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><p><strong>Again thanks to all those who reviewed! REVIEW PEOPLE! :D<strong>

**Sincerely,**

**iamasuperhero**


	7. Chapter 6

****EDIT: Special thanks goes to Roxas 666 for reviewing this chapter. I hope you did well on your exams.  
><strong>**

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><p><strong><strong>Ψ<strong>**

_**The Celestial Noble: The Eluding Prelude**_

**_Chapter 6  
><em>**

_Camp Half-Blood_

**Ψ**

It was one of the biggest military operations seen in camp. Everyone was dressed in full battle-armor just below the Half-Blood hill. The air smelled of dread and fear. Everyone was trembling and couldn't hold their swords steady, except for the Elites. They were ready. No, they had been waiting for this, a chance to test their enhanced skills, a chance to prove their worth once more.

All the campers were positioned in battalions and platoons. The Ares and Hermes cabin were in front line along with the Elites in phalanx formation. Mark, the counsellor of Ares cabin and Chris Rodriguez of the Hermes cabin shouted orders. They were carrying overlapping shields and long spears. Half of Apollo cabins and Athena cabins were gathered behind with bows ready. Will Solace, head counsellor of the Apollo cabin, helped others adjust their angles. Behind the archers, Hephaestus cabin positioned three catapults the size of trucks aimed at the base of the hill. Jake Mason manned the task and gave orders to his siblings. Demeter kids and Pollux, the only child of Dionysus, were scattered in the woods growing thorn bushes and poison ivy with the help of dryads, satyrs and their woodland magic. Half of the Apollo cabin who specialized in healing was setting up beds, blankets and medical kits while the Aphrodite cabin passed out helmets and weapons and gave cheering remarks.

The other half of Athena cabin set up a command tent a few meters behind the catapults. Annabeth, lieutenant of the Elites and the head tactical strategist of the camp, directed operations. A gray banner with an owl fluttered outside the tent. Those who fought the Battle of the Labyrinth felt the sense of déjà vu seeing how the camp was readying for war.

"Our scout has returned." Clarisse, the general-commander of the Elites, wore a face of dread but quickly recovered "There are thousands of monsters out there, and they are being led by the titan Krios." Around her were Chiron, Annabeth and Malcolm.

"Don't worry Clarisse. If the plan works, I'm sure it will tip the scales." Annabeth said. "Any news from our messenger?"

"He has not returned yet. But he safely crossed the Long Island road." Malcolm reported.

"Okay then." Annabeth stood and donned her helm. "It's time."

"Let's kick some smutty monsters' ass!" Clarisse stood and wore her red helm too. She marched outside the tent and positioned herself in front of the phalanx. "Fear not heroes! No matter how many monsters come your way, fight with courage and strength. We will win!" She raised her spear and shouted, "FOR OLYMPUS!"

They shouted in response and banged their spears with their shields. The sound was enough to kill tens of monsters but it died quickly and the uneasy silence washed over them again.

Malcolm, who was staying inside the tent, asked her sister. "Do you think our army is enough? There are thousands out there. We only have 146 campers, 50 dryads and satyrs, and 30 elites."

"Brother," Annabeth's eyes were filled with determination, but a tinge of fear and sadness lingered around the edge of her irises. "This will be difficult for us. Even impossible. But have faith in the gods. They will surely help us."

Malcolm nodded in response and studied the battle field again. His thoughts wandered at Half-Blood hill and the huge pine tree. If Peleus, the dragon, didn't die, then they will not worry about the war. _Wait! Peleus can't just die. Someone must have killed him and stole the Golden Fleece! _"We have a spy!" He suddenly slammed his fists on the table.

"Really, Malcolm?" Annabeth said sarcastically. "That's one of the basics in wars. Send out spies."

"You knew?" He was puzzled. "But, if so, then the enemy may already know our plan and…and…think of a way to counter it."

Annabeth had thought of that, but she wouldn't be obsessed with the idea of a spy. It will only tear them apart and weaken them. They don't have any choice but to commence the plan. "We have no choice. Spy or no spy, we must execute the plan perfectly-"

Her voice faltered when the ground started to shake violently. She quickly stepped out of the tent and saw the army of monsters materializing at the top of the hill. It only meant one thing, the war had begun.

Battalions of Laistrygonian giants with massive axes and maces came to view. They yelled so loud the campers faltered. The plan was to launch the catapults and destroy the first wave of enemies. Fortunately, it went well.

"Fire!" Jake Mason ordered. The catapults swung and released dozens of enormous boulders. The rocks hurled towards the giants and hit them in the chest. Some went down but some managed to deflect it and charged. Another wave of rocks rocketed in the air and hit the enemy line.

"It barely weakens them!"complained a camper.

Will Solace looked at Annabeth waiting for a go signal. Annabeth responded with a nod. "Archers! Aim!" He shouted, "Fire!" The archers fired a volley of arrows. Some stick in the thick armors of the enemies. Several found chinks in them and the giants turned into dusts. Giant after giant went down, but more were coming.

Appearing just above the hill were hundreds of dracaena holding spears and swords. They came crashing down the hill. Another volley of arrows soared through the air and hit the humanoid-serpentine females. But there were too many of them; it barely reduced the number.

Annabeth Chase, known for her skills in archery, raised her bow. A flaming arrow was notched as she pulled the string. Will Solace did the same. They looked at each other and formed a silent agreement. _Release. _The arrows lit the dark sky.

It drew the attention of the enemies as they stopped at the base of the hill. "Check mate." Annabeth muttered. The arrows hit balls of hay greased with oil and Greek fire positioned where the dracaenas' were. The hays blazed and scorched the enemies. Screams of pain and black smoke filled the heated air. The remaining enemies retreated but several who survived charged the phalanx.

Clarisse, who was leading the phalanx, ordered. "Lock shields! Forward!" The campers did so, moved forward, their spears pointing outward, and pierced the dracaena. Soon, they broke the formation and hacked at the enemies. Sounds of metal hitting metal were heard along the field. Clarisse kept barking battle cries and the campers responded. The race of humanoid females was depleted and as the last one vaporized into dust, the campers rejoiced.

"Don't rejoice yet." Clarisse yelled as she walked towards the command tent. "Your plan worked Chase. But we barely reduced them."

"True. The plan didn't work out as I expected. But it inflicted fear in them. They'll be more cautious now." Annabeth said.

"Commander." Chris Rodriguez saluted. "I come with the report."

"Ease the formalities Chris." Clarisse gave a warm smile and told him to continue.

Chris gave a smile too, his eyes shining bright. "Very well. Some got minor injuries, but no casualties reported."

"Great. Our army is still intact. We can stand a chance." Clarisse beamed. "Chase, set the second traps. We proceed to your next plan." She took her leave and rounded up her fighters.

Annabeth in the other hand walked to Katie and whispered the plan. Katie nodded but asked a question. "Where's Chiron anyway?"

"Remember the party ponies?" Annabeth asked back. The party ponies are cavalry of centaurs who have crazy cravings for root beer. Show up in front of them holding one; consider yourself a human-pancake. They once helped the campers in the battle of Manhattan. They rallied against Kronos' flank with arrows and guns.

The camp didn't have much time to recover. When the fire died out, the enemy charged fast. Assortment of monsters attacked at once – Dracaenas, Cyclops, Laistrygonians, and other hideous looking beasts. Krios, the titan, was still not present.

The Hephaestus campers hurled waves of boulders but scarcely damaged the enemy. Apollo and Athena archers sent volleys after volleys of arrows but there were beyond hundreds of monsters there. Demeter cabin, satyrs and dryads grew bush thorns and poison ivy as traps. Some were caught, but many still rallied down the hill.

"Raise your swords!" Clarisse bellowed. The campers shouted in response and drew their weapons. They sang a chorus of battle cries and charged thirsty for monster blood. The two armies met and clashed. The air was filled once again with _Clanks! _

Monsters went down but the campers were taking casualties as well. Soon, they will be overwhelmed. The archers put down their bows and drew their swords. They joined the fight with the Hephaestus kids.

They were losing the fight to be honest. They were outnumbered and they were losing more campers. "Hold your lines!" Clarisse hollered. The problem was easy to see, there were too few of them to fight the enemy. There population was cut down to half. Annabeth slashed her way in front and fought beside Clarisse.

"Lieutenant, got more plans up your sleeve?" The commander asked.

"Hold them off for now." The strategist said.

"Hold them for what?" Clarisse asked. To answer her question, the sound of a hunting horn shattered the battle noise. The horns got louder and were coming from the east. "Party Ponies!" The Elites who encountered them once shouted. A new hope rose within them.

But to say that the centaurs could tip the tide of war, then I say a lie. Even with the help of the centaurs, the camp was still the losing side. Their only hope now rested upon the aid of the gods.

Anyway, the centaurs let out a volley of arrows that vaporized hundreds of monsters. They shout their battle cries and trampled down the demons. "Ponies in the house!" "For ROOT BEER!"

A few of them wielded dual swords, sticks and axes. They hacked and slashed accompanied by drunken laughs. They managed to hold the enemies back but more came to join the fray. The enemies seemed endless. They regrouped and waited for the enemy down the hill. A cold wind rushed by and a black chariot pulled by demon-horses emerged. Krios, Lord of Constellation, Lord of the South, rode it. He wore a black armor spotted with silver dots like the night sky. He wore a barbarian war helm with a ram's horn curling on either side.

He laughed like a maniac and said, "Bow to me Olympus and I will spare the lives of your children! You have no chance against my army! Surrender now!" He brandished a long black sword. "Charge! Slay them all!" All the monsters charged and smashed into the line of campers. The battle was on again, but they were still the losing side. Slowly, they started to lose hope. They lost many campers already but the monsters were growing in numbers.

Malcolm appeared next to her sister, Annabeth. "We're definitely losing. There are too many of them. If only Percy was here..."

"He's dead, Malcolm! He can't help us now!" Annabeth snapped.

"How sure are you that he's dead? We lost contact at the underworld for years. And your beloved Nico left us without warning." He retorted sarcastically.

"Are you gonna fight or just talk about the past?" Annabeth took her invisibility cap and vanished from thin air. She was too hurt by Malcolm's words. She misses Percy so much she wanted to take a quest in search for him; but there was Nico, he had been unbelievably good to her, but then he just vanished and the turmoil in underworld began. They lost contact with Hades. Even the gods don't know where he is, nor can they locate the presence of Nico or Percy. Rumors broke out that Hades and Nico allied with the enemies. But Annabeth wouldn't believe it. She just couldn't.

"What if Percy said was true...Nico is the enemy, this is your fault Annabeth. I can't believe you've gone and been stupid enough to betray your best friend." He muttered to himself thinking that his sister was away from him. Little did he know that Annabeth was just a meter away from him and clearly heard what he had said.

Annabeth fought not only monsters but also tears that were threatening to fall. First Grover, then her best friend Thalia, and now her brother Malcolm; they all blamed her for Percy's disappearance. Is she really at fault? She released al her frustrations in fighting the enemies but it started to wear her down. Actually, everyone was growing tired.

_This is it. We are all going to die. _Everyone thought. They lost hope and it didn't help when the heaven broke and a beacon of light approached. The stream of light hit the ground where the enemies were gathered.

Annabeth was puzzled. _Is this the help from the gods? _She thought. She glanced at her fellow campers. They seemed to be entranced by the light as well. Even the enemies stopped fighting and glanced at the light. They lowered their weapons and growled. They wore confused faces and some even had fear written in some of them. Krios was just as confused as everyone else was. His brows were scrunched and you could see that he was trembling a bit. He wasn't much of a fighter you see. He only follows orders from Kronos but when his brother was defeated, he fled like the coward he is. Only now that he planned to fight with the help of his mother Gaea. She provided him endless monsters, but he didn't know that he was being used.

When the beacon of light touched the ground, monsters within it incinerated. Screams and howls erupted soon after. Hundreds of monsters cried out at once. This gave the campers renewed strength and hope. _The gods had answered their prayer. _"Attack!" Clarisse bellowed and charged at the enemy. She swatted a giant's legs and slashed at a manticore. A hellhound pounced over her but she quickly rolled under and thrust her sword at its belly.

Everyone charged at once filled with hope. Annabeth, despite her emotional breakdown, sang a battle cry and charged. Though, she was curious as to who was the guy in white and gold armor. He fought beyond any skills she knew. His movements flowed with grace and ease like he had been doing this in his entire life. _Is he a god?_ She thought. She studied the mysterious warrior. He had raven hair that was slightly hidden under his eye visor. On his cheek was a tattoo of a number, "06." On the center of his breastplate was an emblem – a sword with wings sprouting at either side of the hilt. She had not seen any emblem of the kind. "Who is he?" She muttered under her breath.

She was focused on the warrior that she didn't notice a manticore's spike flying towards her. It would have been too late if a hellhound – not Mrs. O'Leary – didn't step in front of her and get skewered by the spike. She was snapped to reality by the whimper of the hellhound. She studied it a little and found out that it somehow saved her life. "Thanks." She said to the dying hellhound.

She leaped from monsters to monsters trying to get closer to the warrior in white. She traced his path. He was striding towards the black chariot and fast. _He's after Krios_. Demons kept blocking his path, but he was unstoppable; he was a one-man army.

Annabeth followed the path of monster dust the warrior created but stopped when the man leaped into the black chariot. Krios raised his sword in a guard but the man – she later named Light – was too fast for the titan. Light threw a quick jab sending the titan out of his chariot. He strode down where the titan landed. Monsters leaped towards him but he just batted and hacked them, his main goal, defeating the titan.

Krios stood raged building inside him. He slashed through the air and a wave of pure force blasted towards Light. She tried to warn him, but the guy just deflected the blow. Krios was baffled. He kept sending waves after waves but it didn't slow down Light. Soon, Light was above Krios. The titan raised his sword and attacked Light.

He met the first strike with his sword. The impact shook the ground but they held their ground. After, they exchanged blow after blow. No-one could really tell who was winning. Scratch that. No-one could even see what's happening. But then, Light thrust the hilt of his sword towards Krios face. The field shook as Krios fell on the ground with a loud thud. His ram helm rolled away from him. Everyone stopped what they were doing and focused on the two.

"W-who are you?" Krios's voice was layered with fear and disbelief.

"I am Sixtus of the Twelve Celestial Nobles, Warrior of the Light." Light, whose real name was Sixtus, said. He poised his sword inches away the titan's scared face. "Remember it well, the name of your slayer."

"Sixtus..." The foolish titan muttered. "You can't kill me boy! I am a TITAN!" His voice sent out a powerful force that knocked the blade out of Sixtus' hands. He then flew towards Sixtus and bombarded him with punches. The Noble dodge each and every punch and sent out one of his own. His fist connected at the right cheek of Krios and sent him stumbling on the ground. He rolled over and over and hit a tree fifty feet away. He grunted in pain and stood groggily.

"This is over now titan." Sixtus picked his sword and walked towards Krios. He raised his sword and delivered the final blow with a downward thrust at the titan's undefended chest. The sword sank to its hilt as the titan screamed in agony. The ground shook once more and an aura of energy surrounded his body growing brighter and brighter. The campers shut their eyes and felt a powerful force knocking them off their feet. When the light subsided, the only man standing left was the Noble. Around him were showers of ashes falling from the sky.

"W-who are you?" Annabeth was the first camper to compose herself. But somehow, hearing the girl's voice flared the Warrior of Light. Chiron trotted over and repeated the question, but before the man could answer, they were engulfed in a bright light. The gods had arrived. Everyone bowed except for the Noble. This slightly angered them, but they set it aside, owing the Noble their children's lives.

"My name is Sixtus, a Celestial Noble." He told the campers. "The Olympians requested aid from Lord Aether, Primordial god of light and upper heaven, and I was sent here."

"Aether?" A camper asked.

"Yes young hero." A new stream of light approached and in their presence was the primordial god, Aether himself. "I am Aether and Sixtus is one of my Nobles. He will provide aid for your camp with help from the Sixth Carabineer."

"We are honored for your help Sixtus. Without you, our children's lives would have been forfeit." Poseidon, god of the sea, bowed. His gesture shocked everyone. A god had just bowed to the Noble.

Sixtus, by some means, softened. He had ghost of a smile in face that soon disappeared replaced by a straight emotionless face. He returned the gesture with a bow as well.

A rushing wind passed by and carried a certain scent. "Scent of the sea." Poseidon muttered to himself and stared at the Noble in front of him.

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><p><strong>End Notes:<strong>

**Woo! That was one hell of a chapter. So, what do you think guys? Who do you think would know Sixtus' identity first? Would it be Poseidon? Annabeth? Share your opinions and suggestions people! REVIEW!**

**Greek101, brightemeraldrose, kormk, darklilyofthevalley, scyther27: **I'm glad you think so. Thank you.

**Chromos the cookie thief: **Hey thanks! I really like your story too. And your guess is true! But why he joined them is still a mystery.

**Savior of Olympus: **Hey, I didn't notice that! You're very observant. Thanks! And when are you updating your story Demon of Chaos? I really like that.

**Meeeethegr8: **here it is! I hope you liked it. Thanks for the review and I look forward on the next chapter of your story.

**Bigfananime: **You're guess is right about Nico, though their duel will take long to happen. Thanks for the review. You're Vietnamese? I'm a Filipino, hehe. :D Southeast Asia!

**xXxrouxXx: **LOL I didn't think of that! It would have been hilarious. Thanks by the way.

**Riley Coyote, perceabeth: **Well, who do you think will find out Sixtus' identity first? :D Thanks for the btw.

**Mytical-mist-devil: **I'm glad you think so. I love writing fighting scenes. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you. Thank you!

**ROxas666: **yeah. Sorry bout that. Still no revelation. I also like forbidden love stories, but there are too many of those floating around. LOL Thanks anyway!

**TheMuseNamedPancake: **That was funny, and inspiring. You know a lot of things about candies huh? :D Thanks for the reviews.

**Zacchaeus: **Of course he will be angry at camp and everyone else. Thank you for your reviews. I'm glad you like my story.

**JD747! **Hey! How's your story going? Thanks for mentioning me in your latest chapter. I really appreciate it. If you need any more help, just ask. :D Good luck! And thank you!

**Sincerely,**

**Iamasuperhero**


	8. Chapter 7

**Dear Readers,**

**Here's the next chapter we've all been waiting for. It doesn't have much action in it. But, this chapter tells a lot of things about Sixtus' identity and his past. I hope you'll like it. Read and review guys!**

**Oh yeah! I've read the first chapter of Son of Neptune and... it was AMAZING! It's nice that Percy remembers Annabeth...well slightly. But still! Wohoho!**

**This chapter is dedicated to meeeethegr8! You're an awesome writer and reader. Thank you for your support and everything.**

**Okay, on to the story.**

**Disclaimer: I thought of it and decided to still disclaim any rights on PJO series.  
><strong>

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

"Scent of the sea," Poseidon muttered to himself when the wind passed by them. He was looking directly at Sixtus sensing that the scent came from him. _Hmm… he must've swum in the ocean earlier. I like this guy._ He thought.

The war was over. When the remaining monsters realized that the titan they serve was gone, they fled the camp. All what's left were piles of spears, swords, monster dust and fallen campers. The injured were quickly placed inside the infirmary and treated. Those unfortunate were wrapped in shrouds. Chiron, who said a few words, took a torch and lit them. In a matter of seconds, the shrouds were engulfed in flame. The night was filled with cries and whimpers until one by one, all the gods and campers left.

Sixtus stood there at the amphitheater. He was the only one left. He looked around and recalled the dreadful events that had unfold in his stay in this camp.

It had been five years since he left camp, five years since his best friend betrayed him, five years since the mysterious death of his mother, Sally Jackson and her boyfriend Paul Blofis, and it had been five years since he found new hope, a new family that took care for him and gave him a purpose for living. Aether gave him sanctuary, trained him to be a warrior and soon, he had mastered the Art of Light and became one of the twelve Celestial Nobles.

He pondered on the feelings bubbling inside him when he sensed another presence nearing him. Then two soft arms snaked around her torso, and for once the Noble smiled a true and gentle smile. He need not to turn around to see who it was, he only know one person, or rather goddess, that would ever try to do that. The one who was hugging him was Hestia, the goddess of the hearth.

"Hello Lady Hestia." Sixtus said softly.

"Oh, no need for formalities Per- Sixtus." Hestia whispered in his ears. Now maybe you're wondering how the two got close. Well, I'll indulge you the satisfaction of knowing their story. It wasn't really a long one. It started almost four years ago.

_He was only starting to be trained as a warrior. He was given a test by the primordial gods to see how skilled he was in fighting. He battled out the monsters thrown at him. Soon, he was the only one left. He showed supreme abilities. He was beyond an average warrior. The primordial gods were pleased at him except for one, Aether the god of light and Sixtus' patron._

"_I must be mistaken. Weren't you the one who brought this hero in our midst? Why are you displeased when he displayed ferocity in battle? When properly trained, he can even rival Primus, our best Noble!" Hemera, the goddess of daylight spoke._

"_His heart is ruled by anger, hate and misery. Darkness stirs in him. I was wrong." Aether reasoned. All the gods were struck and remained silent._

"_NONSENSE!" The trainee shouted. "You stirred hope inside of me, but now you're telling me I'm not worthy? Then, you should have just left me dying in that rotten place!"_

"_Then, I should have!" Aether yelled. His breath was uneven. With one huge inhale of air, he calmed down and gave the gods a knowing glance. They responded by leaving the two. "I am sorry young hero. But you cannot master the Art of Light if you have darkness in you." He walked towards the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You must learn to forgive. Only then you can be free from that burden you're taking."_

"_H-how?" The trainee asked calming himself. "How can I just forgive them? After all they did to me, it's unfair." He fought back the tears but when he remembered the time he found out his parents were gruesomely killed, the tears burst from his eyes and anger raged in him. "I can't forgive them!"_

"_Then, I can train you no longer. Learn to forgive. Learn to love again. And when you do, call unto me. I shall see you again young hero." Aether removed his hand from his shoulder and placed it on his facade. Bright light engulfed the boy and he was teleported out of Aether's realm._

_He woke up with throbbing pain in his head. "Where am I?" He asked particularly no one. He looked around the cabin that seemed so familiar to him. "C-cabin?" He immediately stood up and checked if he was in cabin three at camp. All his worries instantly melted away replaced by grief as he found himself inside the rental cabin he and her mother usually go to in Long Island._

_All the hurt inside him burst and tears flowed uncontrollably. He couldn't believe his mother was gone. He wanted to think who was capable of killing them. He wanted to plot out revenge but his mind wouldn't let him. Vengeance is not in his nature. He wanted to forget everything, start a new life without the people in his past. But the cruel fates would never let that happen._

_He walked out the cabin wandering aimlessly. His eyes were set on the white sand of the beach. He wasn't really looking where he was going and he stumbled on an old bonfire with wooden benches surrounding it. The bonfire place was near the ocean. A good thing for he was a son of the sea god. But apparently, starting a fire was a great challenge for him. It took him 10 twigs before the bonfire started smoking and took him a dozen careful blows before the fire blazed. Alas! He created fire. Alas! He was distracted from his thoughts and feelings. And Alas! He didn't notice a presence coming from behind him._

"_You do know that if you keep tending the flame that way, it will die out soon." A girl's voice said from behind him. He swiftly turned around and levelled his weapon towards the person's face – which was a soft twig with a charred end. He did not expect what he saw. A beautiful young lady was standing in front of him with the cosiest smile he had ever seen. She had a long mousy brown hair flowing down her back. Her eyes...the warmest and richest red irises once could ever see. She was wearing a long simple brown toga and a shawl slung around her arms and waist._

_He was busy staring at the goddess in front of him that he did not notice the fire went out. "Eh?" He scratch his head sheepishly and, blushed? Why was he feeling like this? He should be hurt and angered and dreadful, but when the goddess came, he felt calm, peaceful and any other words with the same meaning. He looked at the lady seated across him tending the newly lit bonfire. "L-lady Hestia,"_

_Hestia, the goddess of Hearth, smiled and answered his unspoken question. "I felt a disturbance in the Hearth. I came to find out who was causing it, and found you." She looked up and stared at the young boy. "Percy...I understand how you feel, but vengeance and holding grudge is never the answer. For all we know, it will only make things worse."_

_Percy was silent. Misery came rushing back and it took him all the willpower not to burst in tears. "T-they betrayed me! They locked me up in a cell for a crime I did not commit! Annabeth... I can't believe her. After all we've been through. This is how she will treat me. Like some trash! You don't understand Hestia. I lost everything. Even my mom..." At that point, he couldn't take it anymore. He collapsed and broke down crying. It was weird for him to cry in front of a girl but the situation felt right. Like it was needed for him to let all the emotions out, and he did. But what shocked him the most was Hestia hugging him._

"_It's okay to cry Percy." She whispered softly. His sobs were muffled as Hestia laid his head against her chest. She stroked his raven hair and traced soothing circles on his back. Hestia looked down at the same time Percy looked up. They gazed at each other for who knows how long._

_Percy couldn't help but stare at her beautiful face. Looking at her miraculously warmed his heart. She smiled. How cliché to say, her smiled brightened his world and brought him hope. It brought him the warmth he needed. It gave him life._

_Hestia couldn't help herself to take her gaze away from the stricken boy in her arms. She had the sudden urge to wipe the tears, to whisper him soothing remarks, to keep him in her arms forever. The last thought shook her. Is it right to feel that way towards Percy? She's a maiden after all. But unlike Artemis, she held no disdain towards male._

_Unknown to the both of them, they started leaning towards each other. Their faces hovered inches away from each. Soon their lips will meet, Hestia thought. But Percy wasn't ready. He tilted to the side and pecked Hestia's cheek. This sent warmth to her body. Her face was tainted pink and her lips were curved to the sweetest smile._

"_Thank you, Hestia." Percy whispered softly and lowered his head on her shoulder._

"_You're welcome my hero." Hestia replied and hugged Percy. Soon, the boy's breathing stabled, his sobs stopped and she realized that Percy was asleep. "Sweetest dreams my love." She kissed his head and flashed herself inside the cabin._

_The following days were Elysium to them. They ate their meals together. They walked along the shore during sunsets. They set up bonfires every night and gazed at the stars above. And then, they felt it. They fell for each other. Everything felt right when they were together. They were inseparable actually. Every opportunity, Hestia would visit him and just stay in the arms of each other. Soon, Percy had forgotten the miseries that fell in his life. The betrayals, despair and hatred left him. It meant only one thing: he was ready to become a warrior. He called Aether and presented himself again in the council of Light. And that day, he became a warrior. And from that day, he said goodbye to his love, Hestia, but with happiness and hope in him. _

"_We will see each other again my love." He told her._

"It has been four years seen I last saw you." The goddess' voice brought him back from his flashback. "May I see your face once again my love?"

He turned around and pulled Hestia into a hug of his own. "I've missed you so much." He broke the hug and took her in arm's reach. He stared into her warm eyes and gently removed the visor that hid his eye.

Hestia's hands snaked up and cupped Percy's cheeks. She stared into his eyes and noticed that it changed. "Your eyes are different."

"They are?" His sea-green irises rolled upward thinking that he could see his own eyes. His gesture earned him a soft laugh from Hestia.

"Yes." She poked him on the chest and smiled. "You look more mature."

"I see." He laughed and wore a smug face. Hestia joined soon.

When their laughs died, they stared at each other's eyes once more. "I really missed you Percy." She placed her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I do too. More than you know," said Percy. He wrapped his arms around her securely.

"Thank you." She whispered softly in his ears. "Thank you for answering our help. I know how much you don't want to be here in-" She was interrupted as Percy placed a finger on her lips.

"I'll do anything for you my love. It is I who must give thanks. I may not have recovered fully from my past, but you're the reason I'm still living. You gave me a new purpose Hestia... you gave me a new life." Percy said as he kissed her.

Unknown to the both of them, someone saw and heard everything.

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><p><strong>End Notes:<strong>

**Wohoho! Cliffy~ so who do you think was the person eavesdropping on them? Tell me your guesses guys. And it's confirmed! Sixtus is PERCY! Yeah. It was obvious. REVIEW! And tell me your opinions on Percy Hestia pairing. I'm kind of...I don't know. I want to satisfy you readers as how it satisfied me writing this moment between them.**

**REVIEW! :) Thank you for all your supports and I hope you stay with me until the end.**

**So, until the next chapter guys. Inspire me with your reviews.**

**iamasuperhero  
><strong>


	9. Chapter 8

**Dear Reader,**

**I bring you the next chapter in The Celestial Noble: The Eluding Prelude. Hm, this chap is what they call a filler one. Hope, you won't mind. But, hey, this chap answers some questions and reveals a few important things. So, here it is. Hope y'all like it.**

**Disclaimer: My name is not Rick.**

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

_Big House, Camp Half-Blood_

"Mother! You cannot let this happen! If we must, we should search for Nico! Not Percy." Inside the Big House, the gods told the campers to send a quest for the search of the lost hero, Percy Jackson.

"Annabeth, I cannot. The council has decided." Athena said.

"But he almost killed Nico! What if he's the reason why Nico disappeared! Or the turmoil in Underworld!" Annabeth snapped. This earned her growls from the Olympians.

"You do not talk to the council with that tone!" Zeus bellowed.

Poseidon followed suit, "And you dare not speak ill of my son! He did not betray you! YOU betrayed him!"

"W-what?" She was beyond confused. She looked at her mother, but Athena just lowered her head in shame. She sat and huffed. Here her mother, who hated the person, wouldn't listen to her.

"You were wrong about him Annabeth. Perseus did nothing wrong. It was the son of Hades who fooled you." It was Artemis who brought the truth.

Beside her was Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus and lieutenant of the Hunters, who had a look of resentment and disbelief in her eyes. She scowled and glared at her former best friend. "This is your entire fault. I can't believe how stupid and blind you are!"

"How can this be my fault?" She yelled back.

"Enough!" Zeus interrupted the bickering of the two. He gestured to Apollo and the sun god snapped his fingers. The table in the center emitted light forming a holographic screen of a field in a forest. A demigod appeared running for what look like a flag. Indeed it was a flag, and the demigod was Percy Jackson. But before he could reach the flag, another demigod appeared from the shadows.

_"Percy, Percy, Percy. What took you so long?" Nico asked waving his hand dramatically._

_"di Angelo!" He called with disgust. "How'd you know I'm after the flag?"_

_"Well, if you have great powers like mine," From there, shadows swirl around him and ate him whole. He suddenly appeared half-way from where he was standing a few seconds ago and Percy. "it would be easy." He continued._

_"Shadow traveling." Percy said. "You spied on us!"_

_"Correct." Nico said. From the shadows, he pulled out a three-foot sword, his black Stygian Ice blade. Percy pulled out Riptide and angled it forward._

_Nico circled around Percy slowly, like a predator eyeing his prey. Percy narrowed his eyes, readying for Nico's coming blow._

_But what he hadn't expected was, Nico lowered his sword and laughed. Percy was dazed but didn't lower his guard. "Why does it have to be Annabeth?" Percy questioned._

_"Ah. Annabeth. She's a really good kisser huh?" Nico smirked._

_Percy, in return, just glared._

_"She has this little owl birth mark in the cheek of her left breast, you know." Nico snickered. "I find it really cute." _

Poseidon snorted. He gave a questioning glare at Annabeth, and the demigod shrunk from it.

_Percy was fuming with anger. His right grip was shaking uncontrollably._

_Nico, then, heaved a contented sigh. "I just love cupping those sweet rounded tits." He said raising his hands like he was actually holding Annabeth's upper body part, while wearing a hungry coyote-like face. Unnecessary to say, Percy exploded._

The goddesses wore a disgusting look and Annabeth felt more ashamed.

_He let out a scream and lunged at Nico. "I'LL KILL YOU!" But Nico didn't even move. Riptide passed through him clean but all he did was laugh. This confused Percy._

_"H-how!" He uttered. What he hit was only a shadow form of Nico. He looked around searching for the source of the laugh. But it sounded as if the voice was coming from everywhere. "You stole Annabeth, what else do you want from me?"_

_"Sweet mother of Hades! You're really dense, aren't you?" Nico appeared across him, but Percy wasn't sure if it was real or only a shadow imitating the form of Nico. "I can't believe Annabeth put up with you. Well, no wonder he left you, your stupidity is a real pain in the ass."_

_Percy, who was thinking of what to do, rolled a stone with his right foot letting it settle over his foot. He kicked upward lifting it below shoulder-level. With swift skill, he batted the stone with his sword and it coursed towards Nico. As expected, the stone passed right through the figure and the shadows swirled then vanished into thin air. _

_This pissed Percy, a lot. "Don't bullshit the bullshit-er, Nico! Tell me what it really is you want!"_

_Nico emerged from the shadows not far from Percy. The amused look was replaced by a vengeful one. "Children of Hades are best known for holding grudges. And I tell you, I don't take grudges lightly." His eyes were blazing with resentment. Hi voice was oozing vengeance._

_"This is about Bianca, isn't it?" He asked. Regret was clearly heard from his voice._

_Hearing Bianca's name, Nico's eyes flickered. Shadows build around him swirling in shadow-y dark way. "Don't you dare say her name again or I'll let your soul get a taste of Underworld."_

_"You may be the son of the dead, but you can't kill me. You may have forgotten your own plan, I swam at the-" Percy stopped mid-sentence as he saw what Nico was doing._

_Nico raised his hand and above it, shadows formed a sphere-like bolt of dark energy, similar to that of Hades'. "Wrong! I just know how to kill you!"_

The scene didn't end there. It showed how Nico raised a dozen dead soldiers and ordered to attack Percy. But the son of Poseidon managed to slay them all until he and the son of Hades were the only one standing. The scene only ended at Nico purposely injuring himself in front of the campers. Annabeth gasped. Percy didn't tried to kill Nico… it was the other way around. She felt beyond miserable.

"Do you see now daughter of Athena?" Poseidon yelled. "You were used. You were toyed! That son of Hades used you to get revenge from my son! What do you say for yourself?"

"I-I…" Her voice failed her. She didn't know what to say. She was used. The scene kept replaying in her mind. _I…I.. It's my entire fault. Oh gods no! Percy, what have I done? _Tears burst from her eyes. She sobbed, regretting everything she said and did to Percy.

"This meeting is over. Everyone, leave." Zeus ordered and flashed himself back to Olympus. The other Olympians followed but Poseidon remained.

"Now you regret everything? I lost my son because of you. If I find out that he's…dead, expect Thanatos screaming your name." The atmosphere became deadly cold and soon Poseidon teleported back to his palace leaving a weeping demigod and a paled centaur.

"P…percy…" Her voice quivered as the tears kept trickling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry…" She hugged her knees and cried. Her actions weren't worthy of his forgiveness…a voice inside her head told. _But he's Percy…he will forgive me, she thought. His loyalty is beyond…_ she trailed.

_That's it…his fatal flaw is personal loyalty…which you breached…now, do you think he will still forgive you? _The logical voice inside her said. She shook her head and tried to blink back the tears. She soon got up and ran out of the Big House. Chiron didn't make any attempts to stop her for he himself was disturbed by the truth.

"I can't believe it…" Chiron's voice trailed. He stared off in space as he recalled the night he threw Percy in jail.

_"I'm telling you the truth Chiron! Nico was trying to kill me! If you will just listen to me-" _But he did not believe him, instead, he slapped him hard. The sound resounded in his ears again haunting him for what he did. _"What we saw is enough to explain everything! You stabbed Nico for your selfish revenge!" _He remembered what he said to him. And now he knew how wrong he was.

Annabeth didn't know where her feet led her. When she looked up, she found herself in front of cabin three. Should she knock? She thought. She raised her hand to touch the door knob but decided not to. She remembered Poseidon's words, _If I find out that he's…dead, expect Thanatos screaming your name. _She collapsed into hysterical sobbing.

* * *

><p><em>Amphitheater, Camp Half-Blood<em>

Now let us give her some privacy and focused ourselves on a tensing event at the amphitheater.

"I'll do anything for you my love. It is I who must give thanks. I may not have recovered fully from my past, but you're the reason I'm still living. You gave me a new purpose Hestia... you gave me a new life." Percy said as he kissed her. They immediately broke apart when they heard claps from behind them.

From the left parodos, a silhouette of a man emerged. When the shadows that hid the features of the man cleared, Percy wore a dreaded look in his façade. For the person that he saw was the one he feared and hated. Rage boiled in him as he placed his hand on the scabbard of his sword, readying for a fight. Meanwhile, he used his free hand to move and cover Hestia behind him.

He glared at the man walking towards them with a devious smile plastered in his face. He was clad with a black cloak in replacement for his usual aviator's jacket. The guy had a shaggy long black hair and a pale olive skin. "Percy! I missed you! You're alive after all."

"di Angelo!" spat Percy. "We meet again."

"So… you joined the Light, eh?" Nico eyed the emblem on Percy's sword. He glanced up and saw the tattoo on his cheek and realized, "Ah. You even made it to be as a Noble class. I see."

"Right. And YOU are about to die." Percy growled ready to pounce any minute.

He sighed. He freaking sighed. "You don't get it, do you Jackson? I am death!"

"Technically, Thanatos is the god of death." Hestia butted in.

"Look again, Hestia." Nico told the goddess. When Hestia stared at his black orbs, she was beyond shocked. Her lips and hands trembled and her face was pale. Percy noticed her behaviour and asked what was wrong.

"P-percy, we must leave. H-he's…Nico is…" Hestia's voice trailed and Nico supplied the truth in.

"I am hosting Thanatos, the god of death!" Percy's hands fell from his side as he gaped.

"Uh…Isn't that Hades?" Percy questioned.

"Sh*t! Serioursly, are you that dumb?" Nico massaged his temple. "Besides, that no good of a father didn't even land a scratch on me." He wasn't supposed to say the last part, but the deed was done.

The gears in Hestia's mind turned and pieced the puzzle, "It's you! You caused the havoc in the underworld."

"What?" Percy felt out and asked Hestia to explain.

"Don't you get it? He's the reason why we lost all contact to Hades and the underworld. He's taking over his father's domain." She explained.

"That's not the point here. I came with a warning to Olympus, Hestia. Tell them their downfall is nearing. Soon, the world will be once covered by the shadow again." He laughed hysterically. The atmosphere turned deadly ice. Then, a cold wind rushed by and Nico was gone leaving only words hanging in the chill air. "I will kill you the next time we meet Perseus."

Percy clenched and unclenched his fists in a never-ending pattern, but they had matters to complete. "This is bad. Olympus' forces can't take on both Gaea's and the shadows. Come, Hestia. The Olympians must be notified. And, Lord Aether must be addressed."

"We can do that when the morning broke, Percy. You need rest for now. The battle took a toll from you. Stay in my cabin." Hestia hugged him from behind and he visibly relaxed.

"Wait!" He stiffened. "Your _cabin?_" He asked with emphasis on the word cabin. But she only answered with a chuckle. "Do you mean… you have…ch-chil…" He couldn't finish his sentence. All the more Hestia laughed.

"Find out for yourself." She whispered in his ear and sweetly pulled Percy towards her cabin.

* * *

><p><strong>End Notes:<strong>

**Now that we've established that Percy is not guilty of any crime and that Nico joined the shadow and is hosting the primordial god of death, Thanatos, what do you think will happen next? Will the campers find out Sixtus' identity? Will Percy forgive Annabeth? Will I ever be good in writing? Hehe.**

**So, how was it? Did it suck? I'm sort of losing my spark in writing… I can even see Writer's Block a few blocks away from that bloke rounding the corner. I hate him. I think everyone does.**

**FLASH NEWS: Summer is over. Nooooo… School's starting in a few weeks. So, expect less updates…sorry.**

***Parodos is located on both wings (left and right) of a greek theatre. It's like a corridor, the entrance to the arena.**

**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter and said they like the pairing. I hope you continue reviewing.**

**iamasuperhero**

**PS: REVIEW! :D**

**I'm working on a new story. Completely unrelated to The Celestial Noble series. When the plot is done in my head, I will write it down and post it. It is a really good story. The plot came from my sister, and she'll probably help me writing it. Hope you'll read and support that one like how you support this story. Thank you.**

**Stay tuned.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Dear Reader,**

**I am deeply sorry for not updating for 5 months. University has been hell for me. You think grade school is hard enough? Wait until you're in college.**

****I hope all the people who came to love this story will still follow this and still give wonderful reviews.****

**Sorry if this chapter sucks. Or my writing does. I was in hiatus for months. No practice. **

****The last part of this chapter is very important. ;)**

****If you want to see how Sixtus/Percy looks like without the eye visor, a link will be posted on my bio within a day or two. Hope y'all like it. ;)  
><strong>

**See END NOTES.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Ψ<strong>**

_**The Celestial Noble: The Eluding Prelude**_

**_Chapter 9  
><em>**

_Camp Half-Blood_

_~Percy~_

**Ψ**

_~ A boy makes his girl jealous of other women. _

_A gentleman makes other women jealous of his girl. ~_

"This is bad. Olympus' forces can't take on both Gaea's and the shadows. Come, Hestia. The Olympians must be notified. And, Lord Aether must be addressed."

"We can do that when the morning broke, Percy. You need rest for now. The battle took a toll from you. Stay in my cabin." Hestia hugged him from behind and he visibly relaxed.

"Wait!" He stiffened. "Your _cabin?_" He asked with emphasis on the word cabin. But she only answered with a chuckle. "Do you mean… you have…ch-chil…" He couldn't finish his sentence. All the more Hestia laughed.

"Find out for yourself." She whispered in his ear and sweetly pulled Percy towards her cabin.

"Hestia!" Percy whined like a child, all the more making Hestia laughed. It was a sweet scene if you'll ask me. The tension of the recent encounter with Nico di Angelo was temporarily gone.

She moved in front of Percy and wrapped her shawl around his neck teasingly pulling him towards her. "And I thought my hero has matured after five years. But you're still the Percy who can't keep a fire burning." She laughed as her hero pouted.

By then, their body was comfortably close to each other. Percy felt Hestia's warmth flowing freely to him following the laws of thermodynamics. They leaned towards each other until their noses were touching. A few more inches and Percy would feel her lips caressing his. He closed his eyes and leaned more waiting for that oh so pleasurable kiss. And then it hit! Jackpot! He felt her hard, cold, earthy taste of grass..._grass? _He quickly opened his eyes and was surprised to find a mound of mud in front of his face hiding the amused face of the goddess. He spat out and brushed the taste off his tongue. She chuckled at his reaction.

"Right... Laugh at me." Percy narrowed his eyes trying to give her his death glare but all Hestia did was shove the mud on his face more and laughed.

"You look awful!" Hestia smirked. She merrily turned around and pulled Percy towards her cabin by the shawl around his neck.

_Two can play your game Hestia. _His childish demeanor kicking in. He grabbed her from behind and slung her on his shoulder like she weighed no more than a feather. "Percy! Put me down!" an eighteen year-old Hestia protested mildly. But he held her briefly and the entire walk to her cabin he kept laughing.

The cabin was not hard to find. It was brightly painted with orange and radiates warmth and happiness. It stood on what used to be where the huge stone-lined fire pit where he first saw her poking charred coals. To Percy's relief, the cabin was only built to honor the goddess. "Percy! Put me down!" She said in a hushed tone. "You're making a scene."

Percy didn't put much thought in it. Who cares if someone sees him and discerns his identity? All that matter was Hestia in his arms. "Then, let's make a dash for it." He patted the 18 year old form of the goddess and ran towards the glowing cabin. Within a second, he was standing in front of the door and doubted before entering.

Hestia noticed him falter and spoke, "The cabin does not house any demigod for I don't have one. I am a maiden after all." He sighed hearing her say she doesn't have a child. It felt like the world has been lifted from his shoulders. Trust me, he knows. "So...can you put me down now?" She hopefully asked.

"Nope!" Percy replied popping the 'p.' He opened the door with his free hand and a serene sensation hit them. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face embracing the feeling. He entered the cabin still carrying Hestia over his shoulder.

The cabin was made of old, dark heartwood from cypress trees. A normal log cabin by the looks of it except for the warm glow it radiates. Hanging on the door was Hestia's symbol, the sacred hearth, except for a large bronze number like those hung on other cabins. Entering the cabin, Percy was greeted by a huge fireplace with the finest flame dancing gracefully painting the room with faint orange light.

Across the fireplace was a round wooden table where a tea set was placed. The room was hugged by the distinct smell of freshly baked cookies. He vaguely remembered the times when his mother bakes him chocolate cookies, scratch that, _blue _chocolate cookies. Grief washed over him but quickly replaced by remorse, regret of not being there when his parents needed him. He kept thinking if he was only there to protect them. If he wasn't so week back then, he could've saved them. They would still be alive now. He could have seen his sister, who by now should be four years old. His emotions made him loosen his hold on Hestia. She felt his disturbed heart and silently called out his name.

Hearing her voice snapped him out from his reverie. He carefully put her down like she was as fragile as his heart that moment. Tears were threatening to fall, but he brushed it away and mustered a smile towards the concerned face of Hestia.

_You should not be sad anymore_, _Percy_. He said to himself. _For them_, _you have to move on_.

"Percy?" she called out once more. Her hands caressed his left cheek where the tattoo of '06' is.

"I am fine, Hestia. I just remembered my mom..." He trailed off. He smiled genuinely and she returned it as well. "I must address the matter now to Lord Aether." he took hold of her hand and placed a gentle kiss on it.

A blush crept on her face and tainted her cheeks pink, "Take your time. I'll fix a bed for you while you're at it." she proceeded away from him but not before taking his coat off him.

Percy looked around noticing that there was no bed but he just shrugged it off and went near the fireplace to call the primordial god.

Now before you say "Woah! Back up, how can a rainbow appear on a fire?" let me explain how the Light Messaging System works. It is as simple as Iris Messaging actually. A warrior just needs to find a source of light instead of a rainbow. Then, he will call upon the name of Aether and voila, the face of the god will show up.

And that's what Percy did. "Lord Aether, I must speak with you." The flames flickered... slowly, gracefully at first until it moved relentlessly then swooped down, exploded upwards like firecrackers and formed a flickering image... that of the face of Aether, the primordial god of light and upper heaven.

"Sixtus." Aether said.

"We have pressing matters, my lord." Percy immediately said. "The shadows are working with Gaea." He exclaimed, worry evident in his face.

"And how did you know of this?" Aether asked, his reaction told Percy that he already had suspicions.

"I had an encounter with one of them...i-it was Nico. Nico di Angelo." He spat the name with utmost disgust. Anger flared up inside him and he had trouble controlling it down. He balled his fists until his knuckles turned white.

Aether, however, wasn't fazed like how Percy thought he would be. Yes, he knew what the son of Hades did to his noble. He knew that Nico's hosting the daemon of death, Thanatos, his brother. He knew all about the boy...for he was his mistake. But no one knows of it. It... he was a secret.

Percy, oblivious about it, asked, "Is there something that bothers you my lord?"

"Nothing, Sixtus." Aether continued, "I have ordered the captain of 6th Carabineer to join you in battle and training the elites."

"I understand my...train them?" Sixtus asked as his mind processed what Aether said. "But...they are being trained here and by the Olympian gods themselves..."

"And their skills are not enough. Train them like how you trained the corps." Aether ordered him. "Train the elites so by their own they can defend themselves."

"I understand." Percy bowed his head.

"The cavalry will set foot on earth when the sun is on its highest. Prepare them, Sixtus." Aether said as he ended the call, the flame smoldering. Before the faintest spark of fire dies, the flame flickered back to life and gave the room once again a bright orange ambience.

He released a breath he held out of control. He patted his knees and stood up. His gaze turned towards the newly made bed and the girl on it sitting on her lower legs, her feet behind her.

"Something wrong?" She asked as Percy walked towards the bed. She moved aside letting Percy free fall his body on the warm, soft cushion, his legs dangling on the edge of the bed.

"I...I don't know." With his chest heaving, he opened his eyes and stared at the wooden ceiling. Hestia moved closer to him and placed his head on her lap.

Tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ears, she asked, "You want to talk about it?"

Percy chuckled. "What are you? Some psychiatrist?"

"Maybe...maybe not. But I know just the thing that will make you forget all your problems." Her body hunched back until her face hovers a few inches away from his. She can feel his breath, warm and even.

"Uh huh..." Percy stuttered. Yes! You read it right. The almighty Percy Jackson can't piece even two words together. Slowly, her face bent towards his.

He closed in the distance.

Her lips falling heavenly on his as her hair fell down like a curtain beside his face. She once again tucked her hair and slanted to deepen the kiss more fervently.

His free hand found its way on the back of her neck, deeply tangled in her long, mousy brown hair. Her hair was smoother than he had ever known. He felt her hands roamed around his body carefully unstrapping the leather belt that holds his armor together.

She bent to reach for more. Her hands caressed his cheeks then his hair grasping them with her fingers.

But all creatures have to follow the laws of life...even if they are deathless. The kiss they shared stole the oxygen they needed. When she finally dragged her mouth from his, Hestia felt a deep blush creeping on her face.

"Hestia," He spoke her name with much tenderness. "I think I need a psychiatric treatment from you more often." Hearing this, they both shared a laugh. When their breathing evened out and their heartbeat slowed to normal, Percy lifted his torso. He was now sitting on the edge of the bed. His armor loosened its hold on his body as he removed it completely and set it on the floor.

Hestia wrapped her short arms around his upper body from behind. She asked, "What is the 6th Carabineer?"

Percy tore from her hug and stared at her incredulously, "You were dropping eaves?"

"Technically, it's eavesdropping. And, you used my _hearth_ to communicate with Aether." Hestia corrected him matter-of-factly. It didn't stop him to think of Annabeth though, for she always does that to him before the unexpected events rolled on. The despicable memory brought his gaze on the floor.

_Why am I feeling like this? _He thought to himself. _I have moved on...I have forgotten what that girl did to me...what she did to my heart... _Or that's what he kept telling himself. He was snapped out from his deep thoughts when familiar arms snaked around his neck from behind again. He felt a soft weight on his shoulders and the smell of vanilla lingered in the air.

When he thought she was going to ask him what troubles his mind, she asked yet again the same question, "You have any thoughts of telling me what the Carabineer is?" Though he can hardly see her face, he knew for a fact that she was wearing her brilliant smile. He nodded his head which earned him a soft kiss on his cheek. He brought his hand against Hestia's arm and held her securely.

"The Warriors of Light are divided in twelve ranks each led by different Celestial Nobles, hence the Twelve Celestial Nobles. The Nobles have their own expertise that reflects to what their army will be. Their personality also defines their army. I am entrusted with suppressing opposition for life that is why my rank is named Carabineer, named after the police corps created by a king in Europe. Actually, my captain named it cause he liked the way the word rolls on his tongue." He wore his lopsided grin Hestia really loved.

"The Nobles are named by their rank number: Primus, Secondus, Tertius, Quartus, Quintus, Sixtus, Septimus, Octavus, Nonus, Decimus, Undecus and Dodecus. However, we are ranked neither by strength nor skills in battle. They are just names to honor our position as Nobles." Percy explained. "I am Sixtus, commander of the 6th Carabineer."

"I see." She said in between nods.

"Any more questions?"

"Nope." she said ending it with a 'pop' sound.

He carefully released her hold around his neck and turned to face her. He placed his hand against her soft, warm cheek and slowly leaned in, silently begging for another kiss. She inclined her face as well showing her approval. When their lips were about to meet, thunder roared roughly outside making them spring away from each other.

"Ugh!" Percy heaved an annoyed grunt.

"Sorry. My mighty brother is commanding all gods up in Olympus." She hugged him firmly and placed a soft kiss on his lips. She stared at Percy's eyes and told him, "It's nice meeting you again. You don't know how much I longed for this day."

"I missed you so much too, my love."

"Take your rest my hero." She turned around and left with a puff of light smoke leaving the scent of freshly baked cookies lulling him to sleep.

Soon, dream lifted its arms and carried him off in slumber but not before his heart pained hearing a faint sound of a girl crying from a distance.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Ψ<strong>**

_~ Annabeth ~_

****Ψ****

She was crying on the marble steps in front of Poseidon's cabin. Why she was there? She was mourning for her loss…Percy Jackson - the son of Poseidon, hero of Olympus, and the guy she cheated on. Annabeth was in deep grief. All she could feel was pain and hurt. She couldn't believe it but there could be no room for denial. No matter how the world spins…it will only lead back to one point…she cheated on him. Oh how she regretted that night…that appalling night that brought about this immense pain.

But who can she blame? Nico? The fates? No and no. She brought this to herself. The blame is on her and no one else. She reaped what she had sown.

She lost all of her friends… Grover, Travis, Connor, Tyson, and Thalia. They were the people who fought for his innocence. But she didn't believe them. Instead she drove them out of her life…or was it the other way around…they drove her out of their lives.

She lost everything. How can one simple act change everything that she knew, everything that she tried to build. After the titan war, she was seen as the pride of Athena. For years she tried to earn it, and when the time she held her mother's respect, Athena sees her with revulsion.

But nothing will contend to the hurt of losing him…her best friend and boyfriend. The thought brought a new wave of depression over her. She could not take it. She could not bear it. This has to end…she…she…

Before she could finish her final thoughts, a familiar hand rested upon her narrow shoulders.

"Annabeth?" the person called.

She caught a sob and slowly lifted her head tears still brimming down her soft, plush cheeks. She gazed upon her company and tried to blink back the tears. There in front of her was someone she didn't expect, Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter and ex-girlfriend of Travis Stoll, former counselor of Hermes' cabin.

"So the rumor is true, eh?" Katie sat down beside her and carried her gaze up at the stars. "He was right all along…and I didn't believe him."

Annabeth only looked at her, unable to speak. Katie continued on, "He kept telling me Percy was innocent but it was not in me to believe him…"

By then, Annabeth found her voice and spoke, "I-I'm sorry…This is all my fault…T-Travis w-wouldn't be..." She trailed off as she saw the demigod's eyes watering. "If it wasn't for my stupidity…none of this would have happened."

"Right now…I want to be mad at you." Katie bluntly said. "But I know for myself that I am the reason why we broke up and that he is d-dead. I didn't trust him. I can't blame you or anyone for my own mistake."

Annabeth didn't know what to say. Clearly in her mind, she was the only one at fault. If she didn't cheat on Percy, the twins wouldn't have gone off a quest to find him. They wouldn't have died.

She was snapped out from her thoughts when she heard a sound of clap. "Anyway," Katie clamped her hands on her shoulders and put on a cheerful smile she is known for. "There is nothing I can do now. But you…you are one of the most vital camper here. With the impending war, the campers will need you as strong as you will ever be. Restore yourself and lead us to Olympus' triumph." With that, she quickly strode towards her cabin leaving Annabeth to her thoughts once again.

_Katie is right…I must move on. I need to be strong and earn her approval again. After this war…I will find you Percy and tell you how sorry I am. It may not be enough, but I'll do anything in my power to gain your forgiveness._ She wiped away the tears and dusted off her jeans. On her walk back to Athena's cabin, she kept on thinking of him but her thoughts soon drifted to the warrior serving the primordial. Weird.

Before she went to sleep, she was left with one thought. _Who is he?_

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><p><strong>End Notes:<strong>

**This chapter was supposed to be in Annabeth's POV only, to express her thoughts and feelings. But since I hate her (in my story only), I lessened her part and wrote a Percy/Hestia moment. It sucks that I find it hard to write romantic scenes, ugh! How was it anyway?  
><strong>

**The next chapter will be in Percy's POV (again) and someone else's (Captain of the 6th Carabineer). Who do you think he is? Tell me all your thoughts, opinions, comments in a review. Thank you.**

******Ψ**** ****Ψ**** ****Ψ****  
><strong>

**November 1, 2011 - You probably received a notification/message saying that a new chapter for The Celestial Noble was posted. Sorry! That was my fault. What happened was, I was re-uploading the chapters that had been beta-read (Prologue - Chapter 4). **You can read them if you want. Though, there weren't any changes on the plot. So, your choice. **To _Calming Breeze_, sorry for the unexpected sense of deja vu.**

**To my pissed off reviewers, my apologies. There was scarcity of time in my side. I find it hard to squeeze in the time to write. "now after 6 months u have finally updated to say that ur thinking of another story." The thought of writing another story has left my mind for months. I will finish this story for it has captured both my heart and mind before I write a new one.**

****For all those readers that gave time to message me - telling and encouraging me to review - thank you so much! Because of you guys, this chapter was written. This is dedicated to all of you.****

****To all those who reviewed, I send you my gratitude. It flatters me every time I read your reviews. Thank you.****

****With apologies,****

****iamasuperhero  
><strong>**


	11. Chapter 10

****Pre-Script: This is the edited version! Enjoy reading. ****Okay. My gmail account trolled with me. I happen to receive the corrected version a day after my beta sent it. Anyway, this is the beta-read version. ****  
><strong>**

****Dear Reader,****

****I know that saying sorry is not enough. I'm sure you are slightly aware that I'm busy with school and whatnot. So, instead of saying sorry, I give you the longest chapter I've ever written. Composed of 4,467 words, here is Chapter 10 of The Eluding Prelude from The Celestial Noble series.  
><strong>**

****Half of this chapter was written way back December, the other half was written this April. Resulting to inconsistencies with my writing and wordings. I'm sorry if it will be bothersome. It is for me, anyway.  
><strong>**

****I would love to do a review-reply, but seeing that there are so many of them, I'll just respond in the form of a PM if you have an account.  
><strong>**

****Special attention to my slightly pissed off reviewer (anon). Hey. Here it is. Know that I won't give up on this story. I love this as much as you do. Hearing you (or more like reading your reviews) say that this is one of the best story flatters me so much. Your compliments and your dedication of encouraging me to update are well appreciated.  
><strong>**

****Story Recommendation:  
><strong>**

****If the idea of Percy being betrayed appeals to you, I recommend you to read "_The Betrayal_" by SyKoLiFe. Emotions are well portrayed. And the sense of betrayal is really strong in her story. The characters are not too OOC. So, read it.  
><strong>**

****Also, when I got back to FanFiction, I can't help but smile when I saw stories shipping Percy and Hestia. If the pair also appeals to you, I recommend you to read these:  
><strong>**

****_Betrayal and Reawakening_ by Zurgboy2  
><em>Change the Fates Design<em> by Apollo Artemis  
><em>The Story of the Brothers of the Sea<em> by Nightfury78****

****Hmm...what else to say?****

****About the author:  
><strong>**

****I am a student in a university. Last Feb, I was chosen to represent my school for a national event. Updating this chapter feels like I'm posting my first ever story. I'm really nervous.  
><strong>**

****Disclaimer: I only own The Celestial Noble concept. Rick Riordan owns everything else.****

****Special thanks to my beta, Roxas666. May the light always guide your path.  
><strong>**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Ψ<strong>**

_**The Celestial Noble: The Eluding Prelude**_

**_Chapter 10  
><em>**

_Camp Half-Blood_

_~Percy~_

**Ψ**

The morning light filtered through the wood-framed windows. Percy slowly opened his eyes. The soft and warm sunlight bathed his skin as he lay on his side. He closed his eyes again, trying to remember the dream he had. It was foggy. All that he could remember was a girl weeping on the stairs leading to the porch of a familiar cabin. He tried to hold onto the fading memory, but reality seeped in and he knew he had to get up.

Slowly rising from the bed, Percy stretched his arms and legs, letting the numbness and tingling sensation go away. He looked around him as soon as feeling returned to his fingers and toes. He found himself in an unfamiliar yet comfortable cabin. He inhaled and the scent of freshly baked cookies wafted from the room. Rubbing the sleep off his eyes, he recalled the events yesterday: meeting with the Olympians, battling Ares, and saving camp from Krios. _Camp! _He still couldn't believe it. He was back at the place that ruined his life; the place where he was unwanted, imprisoned, and cursed. And he must stay and train them. Cruel life.

But he is now Sixtus. He is no longer Percy Jackson. He is no longer the weak demigod they ruthlessly tossed inside a rotten dungeon. That person was long dead. Forgotten.

Setting aside all those thoughts, he walked towards the round table where his armor lay. Wearing all this would effectively hide his identity, but it would be awkward if he does so. Who would stroll around wearing armor and a cape? No one. Thankfully, fresh clothes were neatly folded and placed beside his armor. He studied the clothes – a light blue shirt and black denim pants. "Normal enough to go by," said Percy, "But not enough to hide my face." He took his eye visor and set it beside the shirt. "This will do," he thought in between nods. He silently prayed his gratitude to Hestia and freshened himself.

The sun was barely peeking through the horizon, casting soft beams of sunlight in every direction, illuminating the huge pine tree that once held the spirit of Thalia Grace. The whole camp was enveloped with silence when Sixtus stepped out from the cabin. He stretched and yawned, embracing his surroundings.

He began to walk, aimlessly drinking in all the memories he had in Camp Half-Blood. On his right stood the Big House where his journey began as a demigod. On his left was the mess hall – a beautiful outside courtyard overlooking the sea. The sea... oh how he missed the waves lapping on the white-sandy shores. But then, the _girl_ flooded his memories. His eyes instantly went to the canoe lake and couldn't help but reminisce the kiss they shared. _Was it even true? Did she even love me? _These thoughts haunted him as more memories of them being together kept flowing. Thank Uranus a horn blew in the distance signalling that breakfast was being served.

Campers came out from their respective cabins forming lines led by senior counsellors. They strode towards the mess hall in silence, some giving awkward glances towards the Noble. He didn't mind them, though, since his eye visor was shadowing his face, and his gaze was focused on the tough-looking girl leading them.

The demigod met his gaze and they held it steadily, each one sizing the other. Around them, campers shifted warily thinking that the staring would evolve into a contest of who is stronger.

But the campers saw the unexpected, for Clarisse – commander of the Elites, daughter of Ares, the drakon slayer – offered the Noble a nod of respect.

To say Sixtus was shocked would be an understatement but he managed to give her a nod in return.

Clarisse continued walking up the hill towards the mess hall followed by the campers, dryads, satyrs, and nymphs. Soon, everyone was gathered around the dining pavilion and that was the time Sixtus appeared atop the hill. All conversations died. The atmosphere bore silence and everyone's eyes were on him. For seconds he stood there unnerved by all the stares he was getting. But then, he questioned himself where to sit. He looked around noticing that the campers still sat by their heritage. His eyes then landed on table three. Boy was he so glad no one was seated there. A smile crept its way over his face but disappeared before the campers even saw it.

Saving him from the eyes of the campers, Chiron stomped his hoof on the marble floor and got the attention of everyone. "Sixtus," he called. "The gods prepared you a table. You may sit here along with your coming soldiers."

Murmurs broke out as he made his way towards the table just beside Chiron's. He heard snips of their whispers.

"He defeated Krios with his bare hands..."

"Soldiers? I hope they are as handsome as him..." This one was followed by giggles, courtesy of Aphrodite kids.

"I think he is a god..."

But the one that caught his attention the most was, "He looks familiar..."

He immediately looked towards the voice and found himself staring at a pair of grey orbs. His feet were planted on the ground.

"What did you say Malcolm?" asked a daughter of Athena.

"Nothing." Malcolm whispered back not keeping his eyes off Sixtus. "Nothing. _Could it be...no."_

When he could move again, he continued his way towards the table and sat as Chiron stood and trotted beside him. The centaur raised his glass, and once again got the attention of the crowd.

"It is to everyone's attention that last night's war was hard for us. We lost demigods, and their lives will never be forgotten. If it wasn't for everyone's bravery, courage, and strength, the camp would not have survived. Raise your glasses to honor all the heroes who gave it all, and for the Elites who did their best to win the war."

Chiron kept talking – some long speech about heroism and all – Sixtus zoned out until he heard his name. "But we must not also forget the aid of Sixtus and Lord Aether, for without whom... it would have been impossible to defeat the army of Krios."

A round of applause exploded around the dining hall, but the impassive look on Sixtus' face remained. His eyes were not shining like how they were when he was in the presence of the Olympians. He's confident that his eye visor will do its job flawlessly.

"Sixtus, would you like to say a few words?" Chiron politely asked him and gave him the floor to speak.

Sixtus didn't respond nor looked at his former teacher. He only stood and started speaking, "As much as it pains me to be here, I was given the order to protect this camp and help train the elites. A group of soldiers will be here by noon to help Olympus defeat Gaea. Bother us not, for we will leave as soon as the mission is completed."

The hall had an eerie silence. Fear and confusion were sculpted on the camper's faces.

"Why would we need your help?" A cocky voice exclaimed from the fifth table.

_Ares. _He thought as he looked straight towards the person. _Arrogant fool, this camp would be in ruins if I wasn't sent here._

"Never mind that." A familiar voice from afar shattered his train of thoughts. He searched for the owner of the proud voice. His eyes then landed on a slim girl atop the hill. It was _her_. Surely, it was _her_. The beautiful, blonde hair waving in the wind. Those bright, grey eyes boring into his like they were searching for any weaknesses and flaws. He could never be wrong about _her_. Five years won't be enough to erase the nightmares that _girl _gave him.

Annabeth. Annabeth Chase is her name. It was the second time he met her after five years. Though he desperately tried to avoid her last night, the inevitable couldn't be stopped. They had to meet sooner or later. And time told them it was then.

"What he actually meant was, 'Why would _you _help us?'" said the girl. The way she said 'you' appealed to Sixtus personally. True enough, if he hates the camp, why help them? "You said it pains you to be here. Then why decide to help us?"

"For reasons that does not concern _you." _He answered back. His icy voice held deep grief and hatred it sent shivers among the campers.

Now, Annabeth is not a daughter of Athena for no reason. She saw through Sixtus' reply and quickly made an assumption. _I see, he didn't just reason out that he was given an order. So there is a more personal reason why he helped us. But, the way he said you...it is obviously directed to me. But why does it feel like there is a deeper meaning to it? I must find out._

And so she did. She pushed more. "Okay. Then, why do you hide yourself behind a mask?"

Everyone's eyes were immediately directed towards Annabeth. It was clear to them that the question was out of line and they were out right nervous with what Annabeth was doing.

Sixtus flinched. Yes, Annabeth broke through Sixtus' barrier. Chiron, sitting beside him, noticed this and decided to act before things got worse.

"Annabeth," Chiron called with warning evident in his voice. "He is our guest and I want you – everyone, to treat him with respect and honor."

Annabeth backed down and retreated to her seat with a smirk on her face. She was not done yet. She was just given an unspoken quest to discern the noble's identity.

Sixtus shuddered. He knew that Annabeth would pester and investigate him. She would not stop until she gets answers.

After the intense moment between Sixtus and Annabeth, the nymphs served food for everyone. But fighting broke out within the nymphs on who would get to serve the Noble. Once a nymph finally set a plate of food before him and an empty goblet, he gave the nymph a small smile of appreciation.

"You have to speak to it. Whatever you want." The nymph told him when Sixtus raised the glass. The other nymphs nudged her and glared daggers at her.

He only looked at her and silently said "Blue Cherry Coke."

Breakfast passed by with awkward silence. All throughout, Sixtus kept quiet and meditated, containing his anger. _Why did I even agree to this?_ _I could have just camped elsewhere and still be able to protect this...this...camp. And now I have to train them. So much for operation: Avoiding Her._

When he was able to contain his anger, he stood and the Nymphs took his plates and left.

"Lord Sixtus," a Nymph addressed him with a bow. He remembered her from earlier. She was the same girl that served him breakfast.

"Just Sixtus, please." He said. The Nymph was surprised with the calmness of the Noble's voice.

"O-okay. Chiron was asking for you at the arena. It will be my honor to show you the way." The Nymph lowered her face to hide her blush.

"Alright then..."

"Aspren. My name is Aspren."

"After you, Aspren." He gracefully waved his hand and followed the nymph. They went south, past the cabins, and soon found themselves in a large open-air venue with Corinthian columns as its frame.

"This is where sword fighting classes are held Lor... Sixtus." The nymph stopped in her tracks and faced the Noble.

"Ahh." Sixtus offered a smile to his companion which she gladly returned.

Chiron trotted towards them and politely dismissed the nymph. "Sixtus, this is where we handle sword fighting classes,"

"I know." Sixtus rudely interrupted the centaur. "Aspren told me." And with that, he walked forward leaving the centaur to his deep thoughts.

_Clank!_ Clank was the sound of metal hitting metal. The constant yells and complaints of the people on the training grounds greeted Sixtus as he stepped on the marble floor. Sixtus surveyed the arena. From his left, the campers were practicing swinging their swords without any guidance from a teacher. Of course, it was a tragedy. A few held their swords right, but most of them got it all wrong. They swung their swords like they were swatting a fly. It took everything for Sixtus to resist the urge to place his palm flat across his face. _Is this what the camp is teaching the demigods now? Where is the one in charge of teaching anyway?_ He searched for the elites and found them busy with training themselves, leaving the new campers to train on their own. Pathetic.

He averted his eyes to his right and saw Clarisse on the wrestling mat surrounded by exhausted demigods. He observed them some more and finally, someone gained his praise. He saw deep passion in Clarisse as she teaches the campers how to fight without weapons. Hand-to-hand combat. He was most certain that it is in Clarisse's job description.

He had observed enough and it was time for him to reveal himself. Hence, he walked forward in silence until a demigod saw him and greeted him with a hasty bow.

"Lord Sixtus!" The demigod was startled and dropped his sword. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned around to see if the Noble is indeed among them. The regular demigods were surprised and excited for their hero graced them with his presence. However, some of the elites scowled and felt jealous towards Sixtus for all the attention he was getting.

Sixtus noticed this and just inwardly smirked.

"Rise demigod and pick up your sword." He told the demigod who was likely to be a son of Hermes.

"Y-yes!" The child of Hermes stammered and quickly bent down to get his sword.

"Lord Sixtus." Clarisse came over and greeted Sixtus. "What brings you here?"

Sixtus smiled. He knew her as being hot-tempered, arrogant, brave, and strong like most of her siblings. He faintly remembered the first time he came to camp and she tried to dunk his head in a toilet. Remembering all that, he just had to snicker. But despite all the times she bullied him, he considered Clarisse as one of his friends before the great tragedy in his life. And based from the news he got from his captain the day he saved him, Clarisse was one of the few who defended him and thought he was wrongly accused. He felt no disdain towards her so he offered her his hand and said, "I am not a god. You don't have to address me as lord, Clarisse."

Sixtus didn't expect how she reacted. Confusion flashed on Clarisse's face. He noticed this and realized his mistake. He called her by her name.

"But, I haven't told you my name." She said though she took his hand and shook it.

_Uh oh. Crap!_ He thought. "Uhh...I see to it that I know my allies beforehand. You are the general of the elites, are you not?" _Buy it. Buy it. _He chanted over and over again while trying to keep a calm facade – note the word 'trying.'

Clarisse most certainly did not buy it. He knew this because wariness and suspicion were still etched at her face. But it left as fast as she untied the bandana that kept her stringy brown hair.

For minutes they only looked at each other. No one uttering a word, like they were waiting for each other to speak. Surprisingly, Clarisse broke the awkward silence and asked, "Well?"

"Huh?" Yeap. The most intelligent reply Sixtus gave. Guess he is still the goofy Percy Jackson everyone loved.

He composed himself sensing that his smart answer raised eyebrows and snickers from the people around them.

Saving him from further embarrassment, Clarisse asked once again why Sixtus was standing among them.

"I just came to check how training is at camp." He replied.

"And?" Clarisse asked hoping for a good comment from the powerful man standing in front of her.

However, Sixtus smile disappeared replaced by disappointment and...was that anger? Anyway, Sixtus gave her a flat no.

To say she didn't like the Noble's remark was a big understatement. She was furious! This man. This man just openly insulted her people.

"You said what?" She breathed through gritted teeth. Her hands balled into fists, ready to smack the living daylights out of him.

He didn't fail to notice this and was ready to explain himself. He may be strong, but he knew for a fact that Clarisse isn't someone he wants on his bad side.

"Clarisse."

The girl mentioned snapped her head to where the voice came from. She faced the presumptuous intruder with a sharp "What?" Recognition dawned on her as she realized it was her boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez, who had called her.

Sixtus looked at Chris and remembered the time he saw him at his worst. Then, the memory was replaced with a campfire song and a Hispanic guy with his arms wrapped around a buff-looking girl.

"I'm sure Lord Sixtus has his reasons." The Hispanic man softly told her. Chris referred to Sixtus with a nod encouraging him to explain himself.

He took Chris' nod as the chance to speak. "I meant no disrespect for you general. But look around you. The elites were obviously well-trained. But what for the campers? They were hardly given the attention and proper guidance to even wield a sword properly. How do you think will they survive the war?"

His statement earned him nods and murmurs of agreement from the campers.

Before Clarisse could say anything, he continued, "I ask you, who is in charge on teaching them sword-fighting?"

Clarisse was intrigued by what Sixtus said and she was slightly aware of the truth it held. She called out a name which probably the guy in charge of the class. "Sherman!"

"Here, general." The guy named Sherman came forward. The guy oddly was familiar to Sixtus. His mind flashed something about a stolen chariot and pranks. But he pushed the thoughts aside.

"Is Sixtus' claim all true?" She asked Sherman.

The guy in question was quiet for a few seconds. Then he spoke with confidence, "No."

"Are you calling me a liar, soldier?" Sixtus couldn't help but raise his voice. Here he was disappointed at what has become with the camp. And now this guy just silently declared him a liar.

The sharpness in his voice sent shudders and fear among the campers.

He snorted rather loudly. "Pathetic!" He turned his gaze towards Clarisse silently questioning her of her opinion in the matter.

Clarisse was having a serious debate in her thoughts. Yes, she heard complaints from the campers about their teachers but she never gave much attention to it. But now, here was an important ally noticing a flaw in her army. And that flaw will take the reputation of the Elites down a notch. And if that ever happened, well, she wouldn't want to think how her father and Athena will react. Her thoughts were divided. Either she disappoints the gods or possibly loses an ally.

"I have to see for myself." That was the safest solution she had thought. "Demigods, raise your swords."

And so, the frightened demigods followed the order and Clarisse saw a disaster.

Her mouth was opened slightly and her eyes were round in shock and displeasure. She slowly turned her dagger-like stare towards Sherman that sent the elite to cower in fear. She was humiliated beyond reason, especially in front of a soldier with great power and high authority. She averted her eyes from Sherman and inwardly sighed. She'll deal with him later; but now she had to focus on fixing the issue about the failure among her soldiers.

"From how I see it, you're clearly dissatisfied with this mishap caused by one of your soldiers." Sixtus turned towards the campers. "From now on, I will handle sword-fighting classes for the campers. I will prepare you for the upcoming war." Looks of awe and shock broke on the faces of the demigods. Almost everyone was excited. Of course, except for the elites.

"But, Lord Sixtus." An elite soldier dared to ask. "Wouldn't it be too much for you to handle both training classes for the campers and us elites?"

The noise died down quickly. Sixtus then turned towards the general-commander of the elites. "From what I had witnessed, I'm starting to think that the elites can handle the war perfectly on their own." Sarcasm was dripping from his voice. "Clarisse, I would like my request to be granted. I will take over the classes. They need to be well prepared to survive the war."

Clarisse reluctantly nod. She excused herself and took the elites with her. When they were out of the arena, Sixtus faced the campers and gave them a cheerful smile. "Well then. Let's get this thing started."

There was a chorus of "Yeah!" and "Great!" that filled the arena.

"When using a sword," he started explaining. "The way you stand, the way you move, and hold your weapon is important in determining how much control you have, how fast you can move, and how soon you will tire." He said with deep knowledge and years of experience teaching.

"We will start with the proper way to hold a sword." He borrowed a sword from one of his students. "Grip your sword with your dominant hand." He told them. "For those who are wielding two-handed swords, your dominant hand should be just below the guard and the other grabbing the pommel or the bottom of the sword."

"Next!" He continued when all of them had finished adjusting. "The concept of holding a sword is not to keep a vice-like grip. This will only lead to messy movements and will tire you out." Almost all of his students loosened their grip.

"Grip is principally using your thumb and first two fingers. The remaining fingers should be curled loosely around the hilt. Get it?" He asked them.

"Yes." They answered back.

"Good." He smiled. "Now, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Then, put your leading foot slightly forward. Your knees-"

"Uhm Sir?" A girl raised her hand and asked. "What is a leading foot?" This was followed by curious nods.

"Your leading foot is the same as the hand holding your sword. Or shield if you have one." He explained.

"Ahh."

"As I was saying, you should be relaxed and 'springy' on the balls-" He was interrupted yet again by snickers. He only shook his head with an amused face on. "On the balls of your feet, with knees slightly bent."

He gave them time to finish their small chuckles and adjust their stance before he continued. "This position is easier to hold and keeps your center of gravity low and, well, central, which will in turn keep you balanced even if you're wearing heavy armor."

"Understand?"

"Yes sir!" They sang in chorus.

"Alright. You may take your rest now. I assume you have other trainings to attend to." He dismissed them.

He walked towards the side of the arena were a table of refreshments stood. He took a bottle of water and uncapped it. As he was about to drink from the bottle, he was interrupted when he felt a pair of eyes staring intently at him. His eyes moved towards the person and found himself looking at a petite girl.

The girl was startled when Sixtus turned towards and gave her curious eyes. After composing herself, she bowed then strode towards Sixtus shyly.

"How may I help you?" Sixtus asked with a soft expression.

"Uhm... I was wondering if you, uh, if you know where the archery range is. Cause that's the next activity after sword-fighting classes. And maybe if you would need someone to accompany you. Not that I am volunteering myself. But it would be great if I may do so. Oh! And I saw you teach the other campers with the sword thingy. So I was wondering if you could, you know teach us archery as well. Not that I'm complaining how Chiron teaches us. I just-" She said, unbelievably, in one breath.

"Stop." Sixtus laid a hand on her shoulder which she visibly tensed at. Her expression turned from shock to embarrassment. He gave her a soft smile and sighed. "Okay. I'll visit the archery range but I have other things to attend to. Thanks for your concern anyway..." He politely waited for a name but the girl seemed to be shock to be standing close to him with his hand on her shoulder. He gave her a light squeeze.

The girl seemed to come out of her trance and shook her head to wake herself completely. "Kayla, daughter of Apollo." She said, with blood rising to her cheeks, making her flush. There were squeals and giggles from behind her and that was when Sixtus noticed other girls by the entrance of the arena.

"Well you might want to hurry up; your class should be starting by now." He told her.

"Shoot." She quickly bowed to Sixtus and went away.

He looked at the girl running across the field followed by the other girls with an amused expression. He never thought he will get such attention at camp after the tragic incident.

When the girl was not visible anymore, he drank from the bottle and immediately the water took effect. Power surged through his veins and he felt as though he can run a hundred miles.

But of course he wouldn't run a hundred miles; he still has to prepare a cabin for his coming soldiers.

And so, he went south towards the Big House to talk to the camp director, Mr. D, about the place where his army will stay.

The Carabineer consisted of 30 warriors. They will need a cabin as big as cabin eleven, and they need it by the end of the day. He thought of asking help from cabin nine when he passed by the forges but he didn't know how long it will take them to build the cabin. Only a god can provide the means, or a handful of Cyclops.

Before he could reach the big house, he ran into a walking stack of papers. Weirded out by it, he quickly fixed the papers scattered on the ground. Well, you see, it wasn't really a walking stack of paper. Actually, Sixtus ran into a person holding the papers. And in result, the papers fell from the person's hands.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was..." He trailed off when he realized who he bumped into.

"Annabeth..." He breathed.

* * *

><p><strong>Gasp! He bumped into Annabeth? What do you think will happen next? Share your thoughts and opinions. Review my awesome reader! I'd love it if you send a lengthy and meaningful review. It may help me update faster. If you have questions, just ask and I will answer.<br>**

**Actually, this is not the real end of chapter 10. But after serious deliberation, I saw that it is best to end it here. By the next chapter, the 6th Carabineer will be landing at camp. _And...a lost love will be found._ The next chapter will focus on that. Hmm? Smirk!  
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**Review people. Just click that blue button beside the yellow bubble thingy. ****Lengthy and meaningful reviews are very much welcome. We don't know...you might just be rewarded for it.****  
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**Farewell,  
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**iamasuperhero  
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